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Everything To Know About The Wegovy Pill Guido Mieth – Getty Images<\/p>\n
The new Wegovy pill was just approved<\/a> in the US\u2014and it\u2019s the first oral GLP-1 for weight management on the market.<\/p>\n Trials suggest it\u2019s approximately as effective as the injectable form, and it has similar side effects. (Though the pill may cause more GI upset than the injectable.) <\/p>\n Doctors can actually begin prescribing the pill now, and it\u2019s best to talk to your provider if you\u2019re interested in seeing if it\u2019s right for you. <\/p>\n There\u2019s \u201cquite big news\u201d around weight loss medications<\/a> circulating right now, says Wajahat Mehal<\/a>, MD, director of Yale Weight Loss Program: Those on a weight loss journey interested in trying a medication now have the option to take a daily pill, Wegovy<\/a>, rather than once-weekly injections.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like the percentage weight loss is about the same between the injectable and the oral form,\u201d says Jyotsna Ghosh<\/a>, MD, an obesity medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine, adding that the pill is a \u201cgreat\u201d new option. \u201cI have so many people who are sending me messages and bringing it up,\u201d says Dr. Ghosh.<\/p>\n The most important thing to know about it, per Dr. Mehal, is that it\u2019s the same medication\u2014semaglutide\u2014that is in the Wegovy and Ozempic injections<\/a>, just now in pill form. Dr. Ghosh says that it looks like it will come at a lower cost than the injections, increasing accessibility for those without insurance coverage. \u201cAnd there’s plenty of reasons that people can’t do an injection, so it’s nice to have that option available,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s brand new, so there\u2019s a lot to learn: \u201cI think it’s going to take some time to see the real world experience of people who are using the pill,\u201d says Dr. Ghosh. Here\u2019s what we know so far.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Wajahat Mehal<\/a>, MD, is the director of the Yale Weight Loss Program. Jyotsna Ghosh<\/a>, MD, is an obesity medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine.<\/p>\n How effective is the Wegovy pill?<\/p>\n It\u2019s approximately as effective as the injections. In a study<\/a> (funded by Novo Nordisk) published in The New England Journal of Medicine, those who took 25mg of semaglutide orally on a daily basis had a mean change in body weight of 13.6% after 64 weeks. The company also reported<\/a> that a separate trial showed a mean weight loss of 16.6 percent. Compare that to a 2021 study<\/a> in the same journal (also funded by Novo Nordisk) that found that 2.4 mg of injectable semaglutide once weekly plus lifestyle intervention led to a mean change in body weight of 14.9% by week 68.<\/p>\n You may notice one big difference: the dose is much higher for the oral pill. Here\u2019s why: \u201cIt’s mostly because the injectable is completely administered inside the body because it’s injected under the skin,\u201d Dr. Mehal says. \u201cOnce we take anything orally, some of it is absorbed, but a lot of it is just wasted, so although people are taking 25 milligrams orally, only a tiny fraction is actually getting absorbed into the body.\u201d<\/p>\n Another interesting side note: \u201cI think it’s less likely that we’ll be seeing compounded versions of this because the dose is so much higher that they’ll have to get a lot more drug, but we’ll have to wait and see,\u201d Dr. Mehal says.<\/p>\n Are the side effects the same as with the injections?<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems like for some people, the prevalence of the side effects is a little bit more,\u201d with the oral pill, Dr. Ghosh says. But it depends on the person. Dr. Mehal agrees that the pill may cause slightly more GI side effects, due to the higher dose. \u201cThe side effect profile is quite similar, but there’s a higher incidence of vomiting with the oral,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n