The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved weight-loss drug Wegovy as the first once-daily oral GLP-1 weight-loss pill.
The FDA approved the first oral GLP‑1 medication for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and related health risks on December 22, 2025, marking it as the first oral treatment of its kind in the US. The medication became available in US pharmacies and via telehealth providers from January 5, 2026. Currently, the approval applies only in the US, with regulatory decisions in other countries, including the UK, still pending.
Developed by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the Wegovy tablet contains the same active ingredient, semaglutide, as the injectable alternative. The pharmaceutical company further outlines clinically meaningful weight-loss outcomes from late-stage trials. It reported that Wegovy produced an average weight-loss of 16% over 64 weeks among 307 adult participants in a phase III clinical trial.
Ed Cinca, senior vice president of marketing and patient solutions at Novo Nordisk, commented, “The Wegovy pill is here, and it represents a significant innovation as the first and only GLP-1 pill for weight-loss. This moment is about changing what’s possible in weight management, and to make that possible, we have worked to ensure Wegovy pill is affordable and accessible to those who need it, however they choose to receive their care.”
Aesthetics reached out to Dr Nester Demosthenous, aesthetic practitioner and trustee of the British College of Aesthetic Medicine (BCAM) to discuss sector implications. Dr Demosthenous commented, “Oral GLP-1 therapies are a powerful tool, but they must be used responsibly. In medical aesthetics, they should sit alongside a muscle-centric nutrition and training programme to protect metabolic health and body composition. Safety is paramount, and prescribing should only ever be undertaken by appropriately qualified doctors.”