Thousands of people across the UK began receiving their first deliveries of the once-a-day Wegovy weight-loss pill on Monday, as the medication went on sale at high street and online pharmacies. The pill, made by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, contains the same active ingredient as the Wegovy injection – semaglutide – and trials show it is similarly effective. But unlike the jab, it is not yet available on the NHS.
The pill was approved by the UK’s medicines regulator on 11 June and can now be prescribed privately to overweight or obese people after a medical consultation, alongside a healthy diet and exercise. It is available to those with a body mass index of 30 or above – generally considered obese – or a BMI of 27 to 30 if they also have weight-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.
“Thousands receive first deliveries of Wegovy weight-loss pill in UK private pharmacies, but it is not available on NHS.”
However, taking the pill comes with strict guidelines to ensure it is absorbed properly. It must be taken on an empty stomach after not eating for at least eight hours, with a sip of up to 120ml of plain water – not fizzy water, coffee or tea – and swallowed whole. Patients must then wait at least 30 minutes before eating, drinking anything else or taking other tablets. Ideally, it is taken at the same time every day.
Abdal Alvi, chief clinical officer at Simple Online Pharmacy, said: “The Wegovy pill is a major development because it gives patients another way to access semaglutide without self-injecting. But it is not a tablet you can simply take with breakfast or your morning coffee. The way it is taken has a direct impact on how well the medication is absorbed, so patients need to understand the routine from day one.”
Prices vary depending on the dose. Through some multi-month treatment plans, the pill works out at £2.30 a day. A month’s supply of the 1.5mg starting dose costs £69 as part of a three-month bundle, while the highest 25mg dose costs £189 for a month. By comparison, the Wegovy injection is sold online for between £79 and £250 for a month’s supply, and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro jab costs between £54 and £300 a month.
Semaglutide mimics a hormone called GLP-1, which is released from the intestine after eating. It acts on receptors in the brain that control appetite, making people feel fuller and less hungry. Very common side effects with both pill and injection include nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhoea. Some people also experience stomach pain, headaches and tiredness; more rarely, serious complications such as low blood sugar, pancreatitis or severe allergic reactions can occur.
The public has been warned about the dangers of fake pills sold online. Megan Rannard, at the intellectual property law firm Marks & Clerk, said: “There are a large number of websites that falsely claim to be legitimate online pharmacies and that advertise medication to the public without a consultation or a prescription, and at very low prices. There is a risk that these types of websites will sell consumers counterfeit pharmaceuticals which present a clear public health risk, or that these websites are simply a front for other types of fraud or phishing scams.”
People are advised to go to credible websites and avoid buying any fake medicine.