The pill produces similar weight loss to the 2.4 mg Wegovy injection
The Wegovy pill is oral semaglutide at a dose of 25 mg, the same drug as the Wegovy injection, taken as a daily tablet rather than a weekly injection.1
In its main trial, OASIS 4, the pill produced an average weight loss of 13.6% over 64 weeks, compared with 2.2% on a dummy tablet.1
The standard 2.4 mg Wegovy injection produced 13.7% in SURMOUNT-5, the trial that compared it directly with Mounjaro.2
Mounjaro produced 20.2% in that same trial.2
The higher 7.2 mg Wegovy injection produced around 20.7% in its trial, STEP UP.3
The pill and the standard 2.4 mg Wegovy injection produce around 13.6%; Mounjaro and the 7.2 mg Wegovy injection produce around 20%.
For someone on the standard Wegovy injection, the pill produces similar weight loss; for someone on Mounjaro or the 7.2 mg dose, it produces less.
| Option |
Average weight loss |
How it’s taken |
| Mounjaro (tirzepatide) |
20.2%2 |
Weekly injection |
| Wegovy injection (7.2 mg) |
20.7%3 |
Weekly injection |
| Wegovy injection (2.4 mg) |
13.7%2 |
Weekly injection |
| Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide 25 mg) |
13.6%1 |
Daily tablet |
These are average results from different trials, so they aren’t a perfect like-for-like comparison.
Mounjaro and the 7.2 mg Wegovy injection are the two strongest options, both producing an average weight loss of around 20% in their trials.
Individual results depend on the dose, the body’s response, and the habits built alongside the medication.
Should you switch? Try the decision tool
Whether you should consider switching depends on which medication you take, your dose, how far through your weight loss you are, cost, and how you feel about injecting.
The tool below weighs your answers against the trial evidence and suggests whether switching makes sense for you, with questions to take to your prescriber. It takes about a minute, and nothing you enter is stored.
If you’re on Mounjaro injections (tirzepatide)
Mounjaro mimics two appetite hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, while semaglutide mimics only GLP-1.
That dual action is the likely reason Mounjaro produced an average weight loss of 20.2%, compared with 13.7% for the standard Wegovy injection, in their head-to-head trial.2
The Wegovy pill produces around 13.6%, close to that 13.7% figure and below Mounjaro’s 20.2%.
So if you still have a good amount of weight to lose, switching now would likely hinder your progress.
If you’re close to your goal or focused on weight maintenance, that difference in average weight loss is less of an issue, and a daily tablet may suit your routine better. That’s when it’s worth discussing a planned switch with your prescriber.
There’s no Mounjaro pill available in the UK, so the Wegovy pill is the only oral option for now.
There’s also one practical reason some people on Mounjaro prefer semaglutide: if you take the contraceptive pill.
Mounjaro can reduce how well oral contraceptives are absorbed, which is why its product information advises adding a barrier method of contraception for 4 weeks when you start it or increase the dose.5
Semaglutide, in either form, doesn’t carry that warning as it doesn’t seem to interfere with the absorption of the contraceptive pill in the same way.
If you’re on Wegovy injections (semaglutide)
If you’re on the standard 2.4 mg dose, the pill produced almost the same average weight loss in trials, so a switch should give you a similar result.12
If your injection is working well and you still have weight to lose, there’s little reason to disrupt your treatment.
If you’re on the higher 7.2 mg dose, switching to the pill is unlikely to support similar weight loss.
Wegovy 7.2 mg resulted in an average weight loss of 20.7%, compared with 13.6% with oral semaglutide.13
If progress on the 2.4 mg dose has stalled and you want to lose more, moving up to the 7.2 mg injection would likely be the recommendation from your prescriber, before switching to the pill. The 7.2 mg dose was approved in the UK in January 2026.
The Wegovy pill’s dosing instructions
Oral semaglutide is taken once a day, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach after not eating for at least 8 hours, with a small sip of plain water (no more than 120ml).8
You then wait at least 30 minutes before any food, other drinks, or other medication. The tablet is swallowed whole.
Eating or drinking too soon lowers how much of the drug your body absorbs, reducing its effectiveness.8
The timing also affects other medications you might be on. If you take levothyroxine for an underactive thyroid, for example, that also needs to be taken on an empty stomach, so you’d need to plan the timing of the two with your prescriber or pharmacist.
What switching would involve
If you’re already on the 2.4 mg Wegovy injection, you can switch straight to the 25 mg daily tablet, with no need to taper back down to the lower doses.8
Anyone starting treatment will follow the recommended dosing schedule: 1.5 mg daily, then 4 mg, then 9 mg, then 25 mg, with at least a month at each step.8
If you’re on Mounjaro or the 7.2 mg Wegovy injection, there’s no published switching trial, so your prescriber will discuss the switching protocol with you.
If you do decide to switch, continue taking your current medication and dose until your prescriber instructs you to stop.
If you stop a weight-loss injection suddenly without having built the habits to maintain your new weight, some weight regain is likely.
In the STEP 4 trial, people who continued semaglutide lost a further 7.9% over the next 48 weeks, while those who switched to a placebo injection regained 6.9%.4
This pattern of regain is consistent across trials that have examined stopping these medications.
It’s why we recommend planning any change with your prescriber, so there’s no unsupported gap in between, and using your time on the medication to build the eating and activity habits that help to prevent weight regain in the future.
Our free weight regain prevention planner walks through how to do that step by step.
Second Nature has worked with the NHS since 2017, combining medication with the structured habit support that protects your results, whether you stay on your injection or move to the pill. Take our 3-minute eligibility quiz, and a clinician will review your answers.
Is the Wegovy pill available in the UK?
The Wegovy pill was licensed in the UK by the MHRA on 11th June 2026, the first GLP-1 weight-loss tablet approved here.8
It will be available on private prescription from early July 2026 through providers such as Second Nature.
It’s licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or a BMI of 27 to 30 with at least one weight-related condition, the same eligibility as the injection.8
The pill isn’t available on the NHS yet. NHS use will follow the usual process, including an evaluation by NICE, and there’s no NICE recommendation for oral semaglutide for weight management at this stage.6
In practice, that means the pill is available privately first, in the same way the Wegovy and Mounjaro injections were.
Our guide to the Wegovy pill covers UK pricing and availability as they’re confirmed, and has a waiting list you can join for launch updates.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Wegovy pill available in the UK now?
Not yet. It was licensed on 11th June 2026 and will be available on private prescription from early July 2026.8 It won’t be available on the NHS at launch.
Is the Wegovy pill as effective as the injection?
It’s as effective as the 2.4 mg Wegovy injection, producing an average weight loss of around 13.6% in trials, close to the 13.7% for that injection.12
It produces less than the higher 7.2 mg dose of Wegovy or Mounjaro, which both support average weight loss of around 20-25%.
Can I switch from Mounjaro to the Wegovy pill?
You’ll be able to once the pill is available on private prescription, starting in early July 2026.
Speak to your prescriber about switching before stopping your current medication.
Is there a Mounjaro pill?
No, the tirzepatide molecule can’t be manufactured as an oral formulation due to limited absorption through the gut.
Eli Lilly has instead produced a different oral GLP-1 medication called Foundayo.
Will I have to start at a low dose again if I switch?
If you’re on the 2.4 mg Wegovy injection, no. The UK licence lets you move straight to the full 25 mg tablet without having to transition to the lower doses and increase from there.8
Will the pill have fewer side effects than my injection?
Not necessarily, because the side effects come from the drug rather than how you take it.
Nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting were the most common effects in the pill’s trial, as with the injection.18
If side effects are the problem, reviewing your dose with your prescriber is usually a better step than changing format.
Can I take the Wegovy pill with my morning coffee?
No. It needs to be taken on an empty stomach with only a small sip of plain water, and you wait at least 30 minutes before anything else, including coffee and other medication.8
Is the Wegovy pill available on the NHS?
No. It’s licensed in the UK and will be available on private prescription from early July 2026, but it isn’t on the NHS.68
How much does the Wegovy pill cost in the UK?
UK pricing hadn’t been confirmed at the time of writing, ahead of the pill’s launch in early July 2026.
As a private medication, its cost will be set by pharmacies and providers, and we’ll update this guide once prices are published.
Can the pill keep my weight off after I come off the injection?
It’s a reasonable option to discuss, since it’s the same drug as the Wegovy injection, but no trial has yet tested the Wegovy pill specifically for maintaining weight loss after an injection.4
Still,
research on switching to Foundayo, another oral GLP-1 medication, suggests that weight maintenance is more likely than coming off medication entirely.
Take home message
The Wegovy pill supports an average weight loss of 13.6%, similar to Wegovy 2.4 mg. However, Wegovy 7.2 mg and Mounjaro 15 mg lead to average weight loss of around 20%.
If you still have weight to lose, don’t mind injections, and are progressing well toward your weight loss goals, there’s no reason to switch to the Wegovy pill if you’re currently on Wegovy or Mounjaro. 123
However, if you’ve achieved your weight-loss goal, are more focused on weight maintenance, or would prefer the routine of a daily pill rather than a weekly injection, switching might be a good option.
Second Nature will be providing the Wegovy pill alongside it’s medication-supported programme when it becomes available in early July.
Second Nature combines weight-loss medication with structured habit-change support from a registered nutritionist or dietitian, built around a balanced plate of whole foods.
In a study of our members published in JMIR, those on the programme lost an average of 19.1% of their body weight at 12 months, and 77.7% lost at least 10%.7
Second Nature's Mounjaro and Wegovy programmes
Second Nature provides Mounjaro or Wegovy as part of our Mounjaro and Wegovy weight-loss programmes.
Why choose Second Nature over other medication providers, assuming you're eligible?
Because peace of mind matters.
We've had the privilege of working with the NHS for over eight years, helping people across the UK take meaningful steps toward a healthier, happier life.
Our programmes are designed to meet people where they are, whether that means support with weight loss through compassionate one-to-one health coaching, or access to the latest weight-loss medications (like Mounjaro and Wegovy) delivered alongside expert care from a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists, dietitians, and personal trainers.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief: real, lasting change comes from building better habits, not relying on quick fixes. We're here to support that change every step of the way.
With over a decade of experience, thousands of lives changed, and a long-standing record of delivering programmes used by the NHS, we believe we're the UK's most trusted weight-loss programme.
We hope to offer you something invaluable: peace of mind, and the support you need to take that first step.
