Storing Wegovy correctly: what the guidance actually says

What the official guidance says about refrigerating semaglutide

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licenses Wegovy (semaglutide) for weight management, and the product's SmPC (published on the electronic Medicines Compendium) is the definitive source for storage requirements. The short version: keep unopened pens in the fridge at 2 to 8°C, away from the freezer compartment and from the back wall, where temperatures can dip below zero. Freezing is not recoverable. A frozen pen must be discarded, even if it looks and feels normal once thawed, because semaglutide is a protein-based medicine and low temperatures alter its structure in ways that are invisible to the eye.

The NHS medicines information page for semaglutide reinforces this: once you have started using a pen, it can be stored outside the fridge at room temperature (under 30°C) but only for the period specified in the leaflet that comes with your pen. That window is not printed here deliberately, because the licensed room-temperature limit is a clinical detail that belongs in your Patient Information Leaflet and may differ across different approved presentations of the medicine. If your copy is missing, the eMC holds the full SmPC.

Practically, most people slot the pen into the fridge door, somewhere easy to reach each Monday morning (or whichever day their weekly injection falls on). Keep the pen cap on and the pen away from strong-smelling foods; while odour transfer is unlikely to damage the medicine, it is a reminder that a fridge door is the right drawer, not the main shelf where temperatures fluctuate more with door openings.

Travelling with Wegovy, what you actually need to organise

Travel throws a predictable wrench into injection routines. A short domestic trip is usually straightforward: the room-temperature window in the leaflet is generous enough that a pen removed from the fridge on a Wednesday morning and used on the following Wednesday will typically be within the allowed period, but confirm that against your own leaflet, not this page.

International travel is where preparation matters. Airlines classify Wegovy as a medical device and liquid medication. Carry it in your hand luggage (hold baggage temperatures are not controlled and can freeze). Bring a copy of your prescription and a letter from your prescriber confirming the medicine and dose; many airports and some customs officers ask. Insulated cool pouches designed for insulin work well for maintaining a safe temperature during long journeys, they keep pens cool without reaching the sub-zero temperatures of ice packs pressed directly against the barrel.

If you're planning a holiday that straddles your next order date, bear in mind that the consultation and dispatch process at a regulated UK pharmacy requires planning ahead. Order by midday on a weekday and, once clinically approved, dispatch happens the same day with next-working-day tracked delivery, but ordering the Friday before a bank holiday weekend means Tuesday at the earliest. Timing matters.

What to do if storage goes wrong

Wegovy pens are not cheap, and it is genuinely stressful to wonder whether the pen you left on the kitchen counter overnight is still usable. Here is the honest answer: if a pen was exposed to temperatures above 30°C for longer than the room-temperature limit in your leaflet, or was frozen at any point, it should not be injected. Using a compromised semaglutide pen risks both reduced efficacy and potential harm, the medicine may not behave as expected.

If you are unsure, the right people to ask are the prescribers and pharmacists who manage your treatment. At nume, our clinical support team is available seven days a week for exactly these questions. You can also check the general FAQs for common storage queries. For any pen you decide to discard, place used or damaged pens in a sharps container rather than a household bin; your local pharmacy can advise on collection services.

There is no shortcut here. Storing semaglutide properly is not a technicality, it is the difference between a pen that does what the trials showed and one that doesn't. The MHRA Yellow Card scheme accepts reports of suspected quality issues with medicines, including pens that appeared to have been stored incorrectly in transit; reporting helps protect other patients.

Starting Wegovy: eligibility and where storage fits in the wider picture

Good storage practice starts before the first injection. When a prescriber at a regulated UK pharmacy reviews your suitability for Wegovy, they are looking at whether the medicine is appropriate for your health profile, BMI, weight-related conditions, contraindications, current medications. Storage guidance is part of the prescribing consultation, not an afterthought you research yourself after the pen arrives.

Wegovy is licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above alongside a qualifying condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or obstructive sleep apnoea. Lower BMI thresholds apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK guidance. A prescriber assesses the full picture; a number on a calculator is not a guarantee of approval. For an overview of how semaglutide works alongside lifestyle changes, the semaglutide treatment page covers the evidence clearly, and the monitoring guidance explains what to watch for once treatment is under way.

If you are already on treatment and have questions about your current pen or routine, the consultation team at nume can review your case. If you want to understand how recent health developments may affect your treatment, our page on covid and its interactions with Wegovy is worth reading before your next consultation. You can also browse real patient experiences with Wegovy to get a sense of how others have managed their routines, including storage, day to day. Check your eligibility and speak to our prescribers through a free consultation.