The weight-loss drug market just got more crowded — and a lot less painful.
The FDA on Monday approved a daily pill version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, making it the first oral GLP-1 obesity treatment cleared for use without injections.
“As the first oral GLP-1 treatment for people living with overweight or obesity, the Wegovy pill provides patients with a new, convenient treatment option that can help patients start or continue their weight loss journey,” Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said in a statement.
The company expects the pill to hit the US market early next month, giving needle-shy patients an easier way to slim down.
The pill contains the same active ingredient — semaglutide — used in Wegovy injections, as well as Novo’s Ozempic shots and Rybelsus, a diabetes pill for adults approved in 2019.
Once in the body, the pill works the same way, mimicking a natural gut hormone released after eating to curb appetite and help people feel full longer.
The pill will be sold in doses of 1.5 milligrams, 4 milligrams, 9 milligrams and a higher long-term dose of 25 milligrams, according to Jason Brett, principal US medical head for Novo Nordisk.
“The lowest dose is almost never the dose that people wind up being on,” Korner told CNN. “That’s just sort of like a loading dose, to let your body get used to it.”
In a late-stage trial, people taking the 25-milligram pill lost an average of 16.6% of their body weight after 64 weeks. Those on a placebo lost just 2.2%.
That result is similar to Wegovy injections, which helped patients shed about 15% of their weight after 68 weeks.
Side effects were the same as other GLP-1 drugs, with gastrointestinal issues like nausea and vomiting topping the list.
“No other current oral GLP-1 treatment can match the weight loss delivered by the Wegovy pill, and we are very excited for what this will mean for patients in the US,” Doustdar said.
The FDA also cleared the Wegovy pill to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems.
Novo hasn’t revealed full pricing yet, but in November, the company said it would charge $149 a month for the lowest dose when sold directly to consumers paying cash, under a deal with the Trump administration.
That’s cheaper than low-dose injections. However, prices for higher pill doses of the pill, along with what insurers may be charged for it, remain unclear.
The company likely won’t have the pill market to itself for long.
Eli Lilly is developing its own GLP-1 pill, orforglipron, which is now under FDA review and expected to be approved by March 2026.
In a late-stage trial, patients taking Lilly’s pill lost an average of 10.5% of their body weight — nearly 23 pounds — over 16 months. They also saw improvements in cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglycerides.
