Wegovy is Novo Nordisk's brand of semaglutide for weight and weight-related disease. It contains exactly the same molecule as Ozempic, sold under a separate label with separate strengths and separate approved uses — which is why the two are priced, covered and prescribed differently. Five years after its first approval it is no longer one product: FDA's register now lists sixteen Wegovy presentations across pens, syringes, a multi-dose pen and tablets, and the injection and the tablet are not approved for the same things.
This page is built from the Wegovy prescribing information revised in June 2026 (read on DailyMed), FDA's Drugs@FDA approval records and letters, and the Orange Book product file, all read on 4 October 2026.
Four approved uses, and which form carries each
| Approved use | Injection | Tablets | Added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight reduction and long-term maintenance, adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one weight-related condition | ✓ | ✓ | original approval, 4 June 2021 |
| Weight reduction, children aged 12 and older with obesity | ✓ | — | 23 December 2022 |
| Reducing the risk of cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke in adults with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight | ✓ | ✓ | 8 March 2024 |
| Noncirrhotic MASH (formerly NASH) with moderate to advanced fibrosis, F2–F3, in adults — accelerated approval | ✓ | — | 15 August 2025 |
Indications from section 1 of the June 2026 label; dates from FDA's approval letters for supplements 5, 11 and 24 to NDA 215256 and from the tablets' original approval. Every use is "in combination with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity".
Two details in that table are easy to miss. The MASH use is provisional: the label states that continued approval "may be contingent upon the verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial". The liver record is on GLP-1 drugs for fatty liver. And the tablets are adult-only and carry no liver indication, so "Wegovy is approved for X" can be true of the pen and false of the pill.
How Wegovy's weight results compare with tirzepatide's is on Zepbound vs Wegovy, and what the tablet's trial and users report is on the Wegovy pill review.
What semaglutide is, in the label's words
The label calls semaglutide "a GLP-1 analogue with 94% sequence homology to human GLP-1". Three engineering changes make it a weekly drug rather than a hormone that lasts minutes, and the label names each: a change at position 8 to resist the enzyme DPP-4, a fatty-acid chain (a "C18 fatty di-acid") attached at position 26 so that it binds to albumin in the blood — "the main protraction mechanism" — and a minor change at position 34 so only one fatty acid attaches. The peptide backbone "is produced by yeast fermentation". Its molecular weight is 4,113.58 g/mol.
How it acts is stated just as plainly: semaglutide "selectively binds to and activates the GLP-1 receptor", GLP-1 "is a physiological regulator of appetite and caloric intake", and the receptor sits in brain areas involved in appetite. The label is equally direct about the limits — "the exact mechanism of semaglutide in CV risk reduction in adults has not been established", and in MASH it "is not fully understood". The broader biology is on how GLP-1 works.
Five forms, and when each arrived
| Form | Strengths | Listed by FDA |
|---|---|---|
| Single-dose pen | 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.7, 2.4 mg | 4 June 2021 |
| Tablets (once daily) | 1.5, 4, 9, 25 mg | 22 December 2025 |
| Wegovy HD single-dose pen | 7.2 mg | 19 March 2026 |
| Further 0.25–2.4 mg presentations — on the current label, single-dose syringes | 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.7, 2.4 mg | 5 May 2026 |
| Wegovy FlexTouch, single-patient-use pen, 4 doses | 2.4 mg per dose (9.6 mg/3 mL) | 18 June 2026 |
Orange Book product file dated 11 September 2026; device names from section 3 of the June 2026 label. The Orange Book does not name the device for the 5 May 2026 listings; the label's only presentations at those strengths other than the original pens are the single-dose syringes.
Counted the way the label groups them — single-dose pen, HD pen, single-dose syringe, FlexTouch pen and tablet — that is five forms, and sixteen product listings in FDA's register. The FlexTouch is Wegovy's first multi-dose pen and, at a single 2.4 mg strength, is a maintenance-dose device. What the tablets demand each morning — the empty stomach, the water limit, the 30-minute wait — is on the Ozempic pill, whose tablets share the formulation, and on oral GLP-1s.
The same molecule as Ozempic: why two brands exist
Ozempic was first approved in December 2017 for type 2 diabetes; the Wegovy label's "Initial U.S. Approval: 2017" refers to semaglutide itself, not to the Wegovy brand. Wegovy arrived in 2021 under a separate application for weight management, at higher maintenance strengths. The split matters in practice because insurance coverage and Medicare law follow the approved use, not the molecule: the same semaglutide can be payable under one label and excluded under the other. That mechanism is on GLP-1 insurance coverage, and the two brands side by side on Wegovy vs Ozempic. The label also states that Wegovy should not be used with other semaglutide products or any other GLP-1 drug.
The warnings, in one paragraph
Wegovy carries a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours seen in rodents; the label says it is unknown whether it causes them in humans, and it is contraindicated with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2, and after a serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide or the product's ingredients. The other labelled warnings cover pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, low blood sugar when combined with insulin or a sulfonylurea, kidney injury from dehydration, severe gastrointestinal reactions and more. The most common reactions (≥5%) are led by nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation and abdominal pain. The full record is on Wegovy side effects. Whether any of this applies to a particular person is for the prescriber.
How people get it
Wegovy is prescription-only. Novo Nordisk's self-pay prices, its savings offer and its own pharmacy are documented on what Wegovy costs, the Wegovy savings card and NovoCare Pharmacy; Medicare beneficiaries have a separate $50-a-month route, the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge.
Sources
Wegovy prescribing information (injection and tablets), revised 06/2026, DailyMed set ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b · Drugs@FDA application records for NDA 215256 and NDA 218316 via openFDA · FDA approval letters for NDA 215256 supplements 5 (2022-12-23), 11 (2024-03-08) and 24 (2025-08-15) · FDA Orange Book product file dated 11 September 2026. All read 4 October 2026.