Key semaglutide approval dates and what each one means

Why the approval history matters when you're weighing your options

If you've been researching semaglutide for weight management, you'll have noticed the landscape shifts quickly. New pen formats, new doses, a tablet version, it can feel hard to track what's actually available and what's simply noise. The approval dates below are worth knowing because they determine which products a UK prescriber can legally offer for weight loss right now, and which are still diabetes-only medicines whatever you might have read online.

The core decision most people reach is this: injection or tablet, and at what dose? Both versions carry the same active medicine. The approvals shape the answer to those questions in ways that aren't always obvious from a quick search.

For context on how the original weight-loss licence came about, the history of semaglutide's first weight-loss approval covers the clinical programme that underpinned it, the STEP 1 trial in particular, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which showed around 15% average body-weight reduction over 68 weeks at the 2.4 mg maintenance dose.

The 7.2 mg injection: what changed and when

In January 2026 the MHRA approved a higher maintenance dose of the Wegovy injection (7.2 mg weekly) for adults with a BMI of 30 or above. Initially this was supplied as three standard 2.4 mg pens used together in a single weekly administration. That changed on 14 April 2026, when the MHRA approved a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg pen: one injection per week, with an auto-dosing mechanism, a built-in covered needle and a lock after use. The starting dose and titration schedule remain the same as before; 7.2 mg is the new maximum, reached under prescriber guidance.

Trial data published around the approval reported roughly 20.7% average weight loss over 72 weeks at 7.2 mg, narrowing the gap with tirzepatide (Mounjaro) that earlier head-to-head evidence had shown. The full detail of the Wegovy UK approval covers both the January and April 2026 milestones in one place, including the eligibility conditions for the higher dose.

One practical point: the 7.2 mg pen is approved only for the BMI-based weight-management licence, not for the cardiovascular indication semaglutide also holds. Prescribers assess which dose and which licence applies for each patient individually.

The oral tablet: the 11 June 2026 approval explained

The Wegovy tablet received its MHRA approval on 11 June 2026. This made the UK the first country in Europe to license an oral GLP-1 medicine for weight management, a meaningful moment, given how many people would prefer to avoid injections altogether.

The tablet is the same active medicine as the injection but uses an absorption enhancer called SNAC to allow it to survive the stomach environment. The dosing ladder runs 1.5 mg, then 4 mg, then 9 mg, reaching a 25 mg maintenance dose, with at least a month at each level. Unlike the injection, it needs no refrigeration, which some people find genuinely convenient for travel or storage. It does require a specific morning routine: taken on an empty stomach with a small amount of plain water, at least 30 minutes before any food, drink or other oral medicines.

Phase 3 trial data (OASIS 4, 64 weeks, 307 adults with obesity or overweight plus at least one weight-related condition, without diabetes) reported around 13.6% average weight loss compared with roughly 2.4% on placebo. Among participants who adhered fully to treatment, the figure was closer to 17%. The Wegovy overview sets this in context alongside the injection's results, and you can read more about what the weight-loss approval means in practice.

The tablet is not available on the NHS at launch, a NICE appraisal would be required first. Private prescription is the current route. Our weight-loss treatment options page explains what that involves.

The approvals that don't apply to weight loss

Semaglutide also holds UK licences outside weight management, and these sometimes cause confusion. Ozempic (semaglutide injection, up to 1 mg or 2 mg) and Rybelsus (oral semaglutide, 3 mg, 7 mg or 14 mg) are licensed for type 2 diabetes, not weight loss. The MHRA is unambiguous on this point. The Rybelsus tablet strengths are not lower rungs of the Wegovy tablet ladder; they are a different product with a different licence. Anyone who encounters offers of semaglutide for weight loss framed around those products should treat it as a red flag.

There is also a newer approval worth noting: in July 2026 the MHRA granted conditional approval for semaglutide (Wegovy) to treat MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a form of fatty liver disease) in adults with moderate-to-advanced fibrosis. The detail is covered on the semaglutide MASH approval page. nume prescribes semaglutide for weight management; if you have questions about how a liver condition might affect your suitability, that's exactly the kind of thing a prescriber should hear during consultation.

If you'd like to understand whether any of these approvals are relevant to your own situation, the right starting point is a clinical conversation. Speak to our prescribers through a free consultation, reviewed the same day by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber. You can also read more about semaglutide and how it works, or check the age criteria that apply to these approvals, if either of those questions is on your mind first.