Which drugs contain semaglutide — and which ones are licensed for weight loss?

The myth worth correcting first: 'Ozempic is the weight-loss drug'

Search for semaglutide online and Ozempic tends to dominate. Press coverage, social media and word-of-mouth have made it the name people reach for when they mean weight-loss injections. Here is the correction: Ozempic is a semaglutide injection made by Novo Nordisk, but its UK licence is for type 2 diabetes, not weight management. The Ozempic and semaglutide relationship is real (the molecule is the same) but the authorised use is not.

Using a diabetes medicine for weight loss is off-label prescribing. That is not automatically unsafe, but it means the prescriber is working outside the product's tested and approved parameters, and it creates grey areas around supply, monitoring and clinical responsibility. The MHRA is clear that GLP-1 medicines are not assessed for quick or cosmetic weight loss, and the regulator's guidance points firmly toward licensed products through regulated routes.

Wegovy, by contrast, was developed and trialled specifically for weight management. The dose is higher than the diabetes formulation of semaglutide, the titration schedule is calibrated for people without diabetes, and the trial evidence behind it (including the STEP 1 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine) was built around that population. That is why a prescriber assessing you for weight management should be reaching for Wegovy, not Ozempic.

Every semaglutide product in the UK, plainly listed

Wegovy injection (Novo Nordisk) is the original weekly subcutaneous semaglutide pen for weight management. It starts at 0.25 mg and is titrated by the prescriber through to 2.4 mg as the standard maintenance dose. A higher 7.2 mg option was subsequently approved by the MHRA, including a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg pen confirmed on 14 April 2026. For anyone curious about exactly what Wegovy contains, it is semaglutide alongside standard excipients, no additional active compounds.

Wegovy tablets are the newest addition. The MHRA approved oral semaglutide for weight management on 11 June 2026, making it the first oral GLP-1 licensed for this purpose anywhere in Europe. The tablet schedule runs from 1.5 mg up to a 25 mg maintenance dose and is taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach with a small amount of plain water, waiting at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything else. No fridge required, which is a straightforward practical advantage.

Ozempic injection (also Novo Nordisk) contains semaglutide at doses up to 2 mg, licensed for type 2 diabetes. Rybelsus, the oral tablet version at 3 mg, 7 mg and 14 mg strengths, is also Novo Nordisk's diabetes product. Those three tablet strengths are not steps in the Wegovy weight-loss schedule and should never be read that way. If you have seen references to a 3 mg or 14 mg semaglutide tablet for weight loss, that is either a misreading or a confusion between the two products.

Why the licensing difference is not just paperwork

A medicine's licence defines the population it was studied in, the dose that was found effective and safe for that indication, and the conditions the manufacturer has agreed to monitor. When you take Wegovy for weight management, you are taking a dose and following a schedule that was tested in large trials involving people with obesity or overweight (including Wegovy's full clinical programme) and that is what your prescriber is drawing on when they assess whether it suits you.

For a more detailed look at which medicines are semaglutide and how they compare across indications, our clinical team has covered the full landscape. But the short answer for anyone arriving at this page from a weight-management search: Wegovy injection and Wegovy tablets are the products to ask about.

Cost is a reasonable question at this point. Private treatment prices vary by dose and provider, and context on where to get Wegovy in the UK helps set expectations on that. What any legitimate price includes is the prescription itself, which requires a clinical assessment, there is no legal way to obtain these medicines without one.

How a prescriber decides which semaglutide product applies to you

A clinician reviewing your consultation is not just checking a BMI box. They are considering your medical history, current medicines, whether you have type 2 diabetes, how you would manage a weekly injection versus a daily tablet, and what your clinical picture looks like overall. The NHS medicines page for semaglutide covers the conditions each licensed product is indicated for, and it is worth reading before you speak to a prescriber.

At nume, every consultation goes to a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber who reads it on the same day, not a chatbot working through a script. If Wegovy is appropriate, the prescription is written by that named clinician. If the consultation flags something that needs further discussion, they will say so. Orders placed before 12 pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day once approved, arriving via tracked DPD delivery the next working day. For anyone unsure where to begin, the free consultation page is the starting point.

If you have broader questions about the semaglutide medicines available in the UK, or want to understand the full list of products that contain semaglutide, those pages go into more detail on the pharmacology and licensing side. The general FAQs cover common process questions too.