Which semaglutide brand is licensed for weight loss in the UK?

What the MHRA approval trail tells you about each semaglutide brand

Semaglutide was first developed as a GLP-1 receptor agonist for blood-sugar management in type 2 diabetes, that is Ozempic, approved in the UK for diabetes. Novo Nordisk then ran the STEP clinical programme to test higher doses specifically for obesity, culminating in the landmark STEP 1 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine: participants without diabetes lost an average of around 15% of body weight over 68 weeks on semaglutide 2.4 mg, compared with roughly 2.4% on placebo. That evidence base is what underpinned MHRA and NICE authorisation for Wegovy as a distinct, separately licensed product for weight management.

So when someone asks about the "semaglutide brand" for weight loss, the answer the clinical evidence points to is Wegovy, not Ozempic, and you can read a full breakdown of the semaglutide brand names available in the UK to understand how each one is licensed and what it is used for. The molecule is identical; the licensed indication and the studied dose are not. Prescribing Ozempic for weight loss would be off-label, and you should be cautious about any service offering it on that basis.

The Wegovy product family has expanded since then. The MHRA approved a 7.2 mg maintenance dose in January 2026, followed by a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg pen in April 2026. Trial data at that dose showed average weight loss of around 20.7% over 72 weeks, narrowing the gap with tirzepatide. That is a meaningful shift in what the brand can offer.

Off-brand semaglutide: what it is and why the MHRA flags it

Searching for semaglutide online quickly surfaces references to compounded or "off-brand" semaglutide, products prepared outside the licensed supply chain, often sold via social media or websites that do not require a prescription from a doctor or prescriber. The MHRA is explicit: no compounded or unlicensed semaglutide product is authorised for sale in the UK. Buying from those sources means there is no guarantee of what the vial or pen actually contains.

The scale of the problem is not theoretical. MHRA enforcement actions through 2025 led to seizures of roughly 20 million doses of illegally traded weight-loss medicines worth around £45 million, including raids on sites producing counterfeit tirzepatide pens. Semaglutide is equally targeted. The MHRA's Yellow Card scheme lets you report a suspect seller in under a minute, you just need the website or social-media handle. Worth doing if you come across one.

For anyone considering non-branded semaglutide as a route to treatment, the short answer is that no such product holds an MHRA licence. The licensed route is Wegovy, dispensed by a GPhC-registered pharmacy against a valid prescription.

Rybelsus, Wegovy tablets and the oral semaglutide distinction

A separate source of confusion is oral semaglutide. Rybelsus (tablets at 3 mg, 7 mg and 14 mg) is licensed in the UK for type 2 diabetes, not weight loss. It is not a lower-dose stepping stone to Wegovy; the two products serve different conditions.

Wegovy tablets are an entirely separate formulation. The MHRA approved them on 11 June 2026 as the UK's first oral GLP-1 medicine licensed for weight management, starting at 1.5 mg daily and titrating through 4 mg and 9 mg to a 25 mg maintenance dose. Clinical trial data from the OASIS 4 study showed average weight loss of around 13.6% at 64 weeks versus roughly 2.4% on placebo, rising to about 17% among participants who stayed fully adherent to treatment throughout the trial. If you are comparing semaglutide brand name options specifically because injections put you off, the tablet is now a licensed alternative worth discussing with a prescriber.

NICE has not yet issued an appraisal for the Wegovy tablet; it is currently available through private prescription only. The NICE appraisal for Wegovy injection (TA875) covers a maximum two-year course through specialist services, terms that do not apply to the tablet at this stage. More on the cost context for Wegovy is on our pricing page if that is your next question.

Checking suitability: what a prescriber considers across semaglutide brands

A GPhC-registered prescriber reviewing a semaglutide consultation is not simply confirming BMI. The NHS guidance on semaglutide covers a range of factors: current medicines and their interactions, personal and family medical history, any conditions that affect the upper GI tract, and whether the injection or tablet route suits the individual's situation. The Wegovy injection licence covers adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 and above with at least one weight-related condition such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia or obstructive sleep apnoea, though BMI alone does not settle the question.

Contraception is one practical point prescribers raise with women of childbearing age: semaglutide is not recommended during pregnancy or while trying to conceive, and NHS guidance advises using effective contraception throughout treatment. If you are also trying to understand dosing and want to know what 100 units of semaglutide means in practice, our dedicated page explains how unit measurements relate to the doses used in licensed products. These are the kinds of details that vary by brand and by individual and that a consultation is designed to work through.

At nume, every consultation is read by a real clinician (a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber) on the day you submit it. If you want to explore whether Wegovy is appropriate for you, start your free consultation and the clinical team will review your answers the same day.