While injectable medications have dominated the weight loss space for years, most people aren’t exactly pumped to stick a needle in their stomach on a weekly basis. Now, a potential game-changing medication has entered the weight-loss space: a Wegovy pill.
As you probably know, Wegovy is an FDA-approved injectable semaglutide weight loss medication for adults with obesity or overweight and with one weight-related condition. It’s the cousin of Ozempic (which is FDA-approved for blood sugar management) and can deliver impressive weight loss results.
The new Wegovy pill isn’t the first semaglutide oral medication—that honor goes to Rybelsus, which was approved in 2019. But Rybelsus is FDA-approved for blood sugar management in people with type 2 diabetes. The Wegovy pill is the first oral GLP-1 medication for weight loss.
Many patients have been waiting for this. “I’ve had a couple people on injectable semaglutide who have said, ‘When is the oral form coming out?’” Richard Siegel, MD, an endocrinologist and codirector of the Diabetes and Lipid Center at Tufts Medical Center, tells SELF.
“We want as many tools in our tool kit as possible to help people,” Carolynn Francavilla Brown, MD, a family physician and member of the Obesity Medicine Association Board of Trustees Executive Committee, tells SELF. “Any new addition is exciting, but I’m most excited for my patients who are really needle-phobic.”
Diana Huang, MD, family physician at Swedish Downtown Primary Care, tells SELF that she’s “very excited” about this new option for patients. “I have a number of patients who have been on the fence about starting these medications,” she says. “They say, ‘If there’s a shot, I don’t want to do that. But if there’s a pill, sign me up.’ I expect some will reach out about this.’”
It’s hard to ignore all the chatter out there about these weight loss medications, no matter what form they come in. As a result, it’s easy to be an armchair expert about GLP-1 receptor agonists and similar medications. But an oral GLP-1 for weight loss is new. With that in mind, we tapped three physicians who work with people with obesity to answer the biggest questions surrounding this new Wegovy pill. Here’s what they want you to know.
1. Who is it FDA-approved for?
The Wegovy pill is FDA-approved to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long-term in adults who have obesity or are overweight. In order to qualify for the medication, these patients should also have one weight-related condition, like type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.
