Who makes Ozempic and Wegovy — and why does the manufacturer matter?

You searched the manufacturer, but the licence is the detail that changes everything

Picture this: you've read about semaglutide in the news, you've spotted both names (Ozempic and Wegovy) and you're trying to work out whether they're the same thing, different things, or one renamed version of the other. That confusion is completely reasonable. Both come from Novo Nordisk, a Danish company founded in 1923 that now sits among the world's largest pharmaceutical businesses. Both contain semaglutide. Yet in UK law they occupy entirely separate categories.

Ozempic is the version Novo Nordisk developed, trialled and licensed for type 2 diabetes. It lowers blood sugar and, as a side effect noted in trials, also reduces body weight. The MHRA has never licensed Ozempic for weight management, and prescribing it specifically for weight loss sits outside its authorised use. The NHS has publicly stated that GLP-1 medicines are not assessed for quick or cosmetic weight loss, and the MHRA echoes that position.

Wegovy uses a higher weekly dose of the same molecule (up to 2.4 mg, and now 7.2 mg since the MHRA's April 2026 approval of a dedicated single-dose pen) specifically trialled and licensed for weight management. It is a different product in regulatory terms, even though both pens leave the same factory. If you want to understand whether Wegovy and Ozempic are genuinely interchangeable, the short answer is: they are not, legally or clinically.

How Novo Nordisk developed semaglutide as a weight-loss treatment

Novo Nordisk spent years expanding semaglutide's clinical programme after its diabetes approval. The STEP trials (most notably the STEP 1 study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine) recruited adults with obesity but without diabetes and demonstrated an average body-weight reduction of around 15% over 68 weeks at the 2.4 mg dose, compared with placebo alongside lifestyle support. That evidence base underpinned Wegovy's MHRA and NICE approvals for weight management.

NICE subsequently recommended semaglutide (Wegovy) for NHS use under TA875, though with strict conditions: a maximum treatment period of two years, within a specialist weight management service offering multidisciplinary support. NHS waiting lists for those services tend to be long, which is one practical reason many people look at the private Wegovy route instead.

Novo Nordisk followed the injectable with an oral version. On 11 June 2026 the MHRA approved Wegovy tablets (co-formulated semaglutide with an absorption enhancer) making the UK the first country in Europe to licence an oral GLP-1 medicine for weight management. The titration schedule runs from 1.5 mg daily through to a 25 mg maintenance dose. No refrigeration is needed, which matters more than it sounds for people who travel regularly or simply find fridge-dependent medication a hassle.

What is licensed for weight loss in the UK, and how nume fits in

The two medicines available for weight management through a UK private prescription are Wegovy (semaglutide, by Novo Nordisk) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide, made by Eli Lilly). Mounjaro works differently: it activates both GLP-1 and GIP receptors, making it the only dual-agonist weight-loss medicine currently licensed in the UK. You can read more about how semaglutide works as a class if you want the mechanism explained plainly.

Ozempic is not on that list. A legitimate UK prescriber will not prescribe Ozempic for weight management; it is not licensed for that purpose. If a seller is offering it for weight loss (particularly at a striking price) that is a meaningful red flag worth taking seriously. The MHRA has issued repeated warnings about counterfeit and illegally supplied injectable medicines, and the Yellow Card scheme at yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk allows anyone to report a suspect seller.

At nume, our GPhC-registered pharmacy (registration number 9012878, verifiable at the GPhC register) dispenses Wegovy and Mounjaro for weight management, both sourced through the licensed UK supply chain. Every consultation is personally reviewed by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber. For a fuller look at how Wegovy is priced privately in the UK, including what a legitimate price should cover, that page sets it out clearly. And if you'd like to explore whether either medicine might suit your situation, the place to start is a free consultation with our clinical team.

What about the side effects, are they the same across both brands?

Because Ozempic and Wegovy share an active ingredient, their side-effect profiles overlap significantly. The most commonly reported effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, loose stools, constipation, indigestion, and burping. These tend to peak after a new dose or a dose increase, then ease over days to a couple of weeks for most people. The full picture of Wegovy's downsides is worth reading before starting, not because the list is alarming, but because knowing what's normal helps people stay on track rather than stopping unnecessarily.

In January 2026 the MHRA issued a Drug Safety Update on GLP-1 medicines drawing prescribers' attention to acute pancreatitis as an infrequent but potentially serious effect: severe stomach pain spreading toward the back, with or without vomiting, warrants urgent medical attention rather than waiting for it to settle. That guidance applies to semaglutide in both its branded forms. The NHS semaglutide medicines page covers side effects in full and is worth bookmarking once treatment starts.

For anyone already on Wegovy who isn't experiencing the appetite reduction they expected, there are several clinical explanations worth understanding before assuming the medicine isn't working.