Two pharmaceutical giants have recently launched advertisements directing people towards their doctor for weight loss. Some experts warn this type of advertising may affect public health messaging.<\/p>\n
The decision comes after the pill was approved in the United States and Europe, where demand surged once it hit the market.<\/p>\n
Who can get it<\/p>\n
Patients will need a doctor’s prescription, and approval covers people with obesity and those needing to reduce cardiovascular risk.<\/p>\n
Under current rules, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) only subsidises weight loss drugs for people with type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n
A price guide has not has been set for Australia, but in the US, the pill generally costs less than the injection, despite each tablet containing more semaglutide.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/bd9325204579d1d38694b1691cbec48b.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Packaging and production processes of the pill are yet to be approved. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)<\/p>\n
One tablet containing 25 milligrams of semaglutide acts the same as a 2.4 milligram injection, due to the body absorbing active ingredients less efficiently when taken orally.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the TGA said the pill had been approved in four different strengths: 1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg and 25 mg.<\/p>\n
The TGA is yet to review the packaging and production processes to confirm they meet quality standards before the product can be released.<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk has previously flagged Australia as a priority market for the pill, which saw three million prescriptions for the drug made in the first five months of its availability in the US this year.<\/p>\n
The company has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/40281691d8215c502d6440240abebb96.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The tablet is the first of the weight loss drugs in Australia to be approved for oral use. (Getty Images: Steve Christo – Corbis \/ Contributor)<\/p>\n
Rival Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, has its own oral weight loss drug, Orforglipro, awaiting a decision from the TGA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Te first GLP-1 weight loss tablet has been cleared for use in Australia daily Wegovy tablet has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[299756,22145,163,85,46,482,4664,4514,40099,299758,11897,299757,131433,299755,12860],"class_list":["post-665683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-australia-wegovy","tag-glp1","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-medication","tag-mounjaro","tag-ozempic","tag-tga","tag-tga-weight-loss-drugs","tag-wegovy","tag-weight-loss-medicine","tag-weight-loss-pill","tag-weight-loss-tablet","tag-weight-loss-drugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}