Wegovy Use By Date: Does It Actually Expire?

Where do you find the use-by date on a Wegovy pen?

The expiry date appears in two places: on the pen itself and on the outer carton. It is printed in the format MM/YYYY, which means the pen is safe to use up to and including the last day of that month. So a pen marked 06/2025 could be used on the 30th of June 2025, but not on the 1st of July.

It is worth building a quick check into your weekly routine. Many people keep their pens on the fridge door shelf next to everyday items, and glancing at the date each time you open the fridge takes seconds. If you collect a new supply before finishing the current one, the oldest pen should always go to the front so it gets used first.

If the date on your pen and the date on the carton do not match, that is worth querying with your supplying pharmacy before you inject. You can contact the nume team on any day of the week if you have questions about a pen we have dispensed to you.

Does semaglutide really degrade after its expiry date?

Yes. Pharmaceutical expiry dates are not conservative guesses; they reflect the end point of stability testing carried out by the manufacturer under controlled conditions. Semaglutide degradation after the stated date is real, even if the liquid still looks clear. A degraded GLP-1 medicine may suppress appetite less reliably and, in theory, could carry a higher risk of unexpected effects from breakdown products.

The liquid in a Wegovy pen should always be colourless to slightly yellow and free from particles or cloudiness before you inject. If it looks different (cloudy, discoloured, or containing visible specks) do not use it, regardless of the expiry date. The same applies if the pen has been frozen accidentally, since freezing can alter the formulation. For a full description of what the solution should look like, the Wegovy SmPC on the eMC is the authoritative reference.

Receiving genuine, in-date medicine from a verified supply chain is part of why the route to Wegovy matters. You can read more about how to obtain Wegovy through a legitimate UK pharmacy and what to look out for.

How does storage temperature affect the expiry date?

Storage and expiry are linked. A pen stored correctly (refrigerated at 2–8°C, protected from direct light) will remain stable until its printed date. A pen that has been left in a hot car, stored on a sunny windowsill, or frozen and thawed will not necessarily reach that date in good condition, even if the printed date has not yet passed.

Once you take a Wegovy pen out of the fridge for travel or convenience, there is a maximum room-temperature window before the pen must either be used or discarded. The Patient Information Leaflet states the exact duration for your specific pen version; treat that figure as a hard limit, not a rough guide. If you are unsure how long a pen has been out of the fridge, the safest course is to contact your pharmacy rather than inject and hope for the best.

People on treatment through a clinically supervised weight-loss programme have a prescriber and aftercare team to ask when storage questions come up, that kind of ongoing support is part of what the way nume works is built around.

What should you do with an expired or damaged Wegovy pen?

An expired pen should not be used, and it should not go in the household bin either. Pharmaceutical waste (including needles, empty pens and unused medicine) needs to be disposed of safely. Most community pharmacies accept unused or expired medicine at no charge. If you want to understand when Wegovy became available in the UK and how supply has developed since then, that context can help explain why stock and expiry management matters so much for patients.

If you have a sharps concern specifically, our FAQs cover disposal options. Never recap and bin a used needle; sharps bins are the correct container.

If your pen expired because it was not used on schedule (perhaps due to illness, a planned break, or a supply gap) talk to your prescriber before restarting. It is not always as simple as picking up where you left off, particularly if time has passed since your last dose. The guidance on how to use Wegovy covers missed doses and restart considerations, though any specific decision about your own treatment should be made with the prescriber who knows your case.

If you are considering starting Wegovy and want to understand the full picture (eligibility, dosing schedule, what is included in a private prescription) you can find out more about how to get Wegovy through a UK pharmacy, or check your eligibility with our clinical team, who can also walk you through how the Wegovy release timeline has shaped current availability.