How Wegovy is supplied: pens, doses and what arrives at your door

Picture the box that lands in your fridge

You've seen Wegovy mentioned everywhere, but what actually arrives is more specific than most articles let on. The pen is a pre-filled auto-injector made by Novo Nordisk. Each box contains four pens (one for each week of the month) all at the same strength. You don't dial a dose or fill anything from a vial. You press the pen against the skin of your abdomen, thigh or upper arm, press the button, and the injection is done. The needle is fine and short; most people find the process much less daunting than they expected.

The pen you receive at the start of treatment will be the 0.25 mg strength. That isn't a therapeutic dose in the sense of producing significant weight loss, it's a settling-in period designed to let your body adjust to semaglutide before the dose climbs. Your prescriber controls when each step up happens. The sequence runs 0.25 mg, then 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, 1.7 mg, and finally the 2.4 mg maintenance dose, each step typically lasting around four weeks. You can read more about semaglutide's pharmacology and the evidence behind it on our semaglutide overview page.

Storage matters from the moment the pen arrives. Keep it in the refrigerator at 2–8 °C. Once you've taken a pen out of the fridge, the NHS semaglutide medicines page and the Patient Information Leaflet both specify how long it can safely be kept at room temperature, that window is shorter than many people assume, so check the leaflet rather than guessing.

The 7.2 mg pen: what changed in April 2026

On 14 April 2026 the MHRA approved a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg Wegovy pen, a meaningful development for people who have already reached and tolerated the 2.4 mg maintenance dose. Before that date, a 7.2 mg weekly dose had been available since January 2026, but it required injecting three 2.4 mg pens in the same week. The new dedicated pen simplifies that: one auto-inject device, one injection per week, with a built-in covered needle that locks after use.

The 7.2 mg pen is licensed specifically for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, not for the lower BMI threshold that applies to some other Wegovy indications, and not for the cardiovascular-risk indication. Clinical trial data reported average weight reduction of around 20.7% over 72 weeks at this dose, which narrows the gap with the results seen for tirzepatide (Mounjaro) in comparable trials. For a balanced look at how the two medicines compare across different outcome measures, our Wegovy treatment page covers the head-to-head picture.

Starting dose remains 0.25 mg regardless of which maintenance dose you're working towards. Titration is controlled by your prescriber at every stage; nobody skips steps because they're in a hurry.

Where the supply actually comes from, and why it matters

Wegovy is manufactured by Novo Nordisk and reaches UK patients through the licensed UK supply chain. That chain runs from the manufacturer to a licensed wholesaler to a GPhC-registered pharmacy, which can only dispense against a valid prescription. There is no parallel route. The counterfeit market for weight-loss pens is real and well-documented, the MHRA has issued repeated warnings about fake pens sold through social media and unverified websites, some of which have caused serious harm. A pen that didn't travel through the licensed supply chain carries risks that no saving justifies.

Verifying the pharmacy you use is straightforward: every GPhC-registered pharmacy in England has a registration number you can look up at the GPhC register. If a seller can't point you to their registration, that tells you something important. Our guide to Wegovy supply in the UK goes into more detail on checking provenance and avoiding illegitimate sources, and if you want to understand who the approved Wegovy suppliers are and how the licensed distribution network is structured, that page covers the landscape in full. For context on what genuine private supply typically costs, our Wegovy cost and pricing page explains how to read a price honestly, including what to look for when assessing whether a Wegovy supplier is operating through the proper licensed channels.

At nume, every prescription is written by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber, a real clinician reading your consultation, not software making an automated call. Orders placed before 12pm on a working day are dispatched the same day once clinically approved, arriving with DPD the next working day in plain, unbranded packaging. If you'd like to understand the consultation process before starting, our about us page explains who reviews your case and how.

Oral semaglutide: a different supply format entirely

Since June 2026 there has been a second licensed format: Wegovy tablets. The MHRA approved oral semaglutide for weight management in the UK on 11 June 2026, making it the first oral GLP-1 medicine licensed for this purpose in Europe. The tablet is taken once daily, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, with a small amount of plain water, and at least 30 minutes before food or other medicines. No injection, no refrigeration; it travels easily and suits people who would rather avoid needles altogether.

The dose schedule for the tablet is completely separate from the injection: 1.5 mg, then 4 mg, then 9 mg, rising to a 25 mg maintenance dose. These steps are not interchangeable with the injection strengths. The tablet uses an absorption enhancer called SNAC to allow semaglutide to cross the gut wall, without it, the molecule wouldn't survive the digestive process. Clinical trial data reported average weight reduction of around 13.6% over 64 weeks in participants regardless of adherence; among those who stayed fully adherent to treatment, the figure was closer to 17%. If you'd like to explore which format might suit your situation, starting a free consultation with our prescribers is the right first step, they can talk through both options against your circumstances. Start your free consultation here.