Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide)

What the MHRA authorised in June 2026

On 11 June 2026 the MHRA granted Novo Nordisk a licence for semaglutide tablets for weight management. The decision covers adults with obesity, defined as a BMI of 30 or more, and adults with a BMI of 27 to 30 who have at least one weight-related health condition. Treatment sits alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

The active ingredient is the same as in the Wegovy injection, but the tablet is a separate product with its own Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) and patient leaflet. Staff should read the tablet SmPC on the EMC rather than rely on knowledge of the injection.

How the tablet is taken

Oral semaglutide is absorbed poorly when food or drink is in the stomach. The MHRA announcement sets out the administration rules patients need to hear at the first supply and at every check-in:

• Swallow the tablet whole on an empty stomach, after fasting for at least eight hours.
• Take the tablet with a sip of water only.
• Wait at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything.

Eating or drinking sooner lowers the amount of semaglutide absorbed. A patient who takes the tablet with breakfast and a coffee is likely to get less benefit, and may then push for a higher strength. Ask how and when the patient takes the tablet before anyone discusses a change. Dose decisions sit with the prescriber and the SmPC.

Not interchangeable with Rybelsus

Rybelsus is also oral semaglutide from Novo Nordisk, but Rybelsus is licensed only for type 2 diabetes. The two products are not substitutes for each other, even where a tablet strength looks the same. Check the brand, strength and indication on every prescription, and flag any request to swap one for the other to the prescriber.

NHS position

The MHRA states the tablet is approved for use in the UK but not currently available through the NHS. Any future NHS use would follow the usual process, including an evaluation by NICE. Patients asking where to get NHS supply of the Wegovy pill should hear a clear answer: there is no NHS supply as of October 2026.

Safety points

The most common side effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting. The wider MHRA safety advice for semaglutide applies to the tablet as well:

• Do not use in pregnancy or while breastfeeding. Stop at least two months before trying to conceive.
• Severe stomach pain spreading to the back can signal pancreatitis and needs urgent help.
• Slower stomach emptying raises the risk of aspiration under general anaesthesia or deep sedation.
• Sudden loss of vision needs urgent assessment.

The GLP-1 safety guide covers the class-wide points in more detail.

Launch pressure on pharmacy teams

New products bring waiting lists, staff briefings with little notice and patients who have read headlines before the SmPC is even published. The MHRA said the SmPC would follow within seven days of approval. In the first days after a launch, staff can face questions without full product information to hand.

One week after the approval, on 18 June 2026, the MHRA and the Advertising Standards Authority warned businesses against promoting newly licensed prescription-only weight-loss medicines to the public. The ASA said phrases such as "GLP-1 tablets", "oral GLP-1s" or "the new weight-loss tablets" in adverts are likely to breach the advertising code. The GPhC said action can follow against the pharmacy, the owner, the superintendent pharmacist or individual registrants.

Say you are asked to post on your employer's social media about "the new weight-loss tablet now in stock". Ask who has checked the post against the advertising rules, and put your concern in writing. The commercial pressure guide covers this kind of request, and the guide to pressure to prescribe covers consultations where a patient expects a yes.

A second weight-management tablet, Foundayo (orforglipron) from Eli Lilly, received MHRA authorisation on 10 August 2026. The medicines hub compares both tablets with the injections, and the guide to approval speed explains how new products reach the UK market.

Reporting side effects

Report suspected side effects and suspected fake tablets to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme (opens another website), online or through the Yellow Card app. Early reports matter most for a newly licensed product, because the safety record outside clinical trials is still short. Service-level concerns go through the steps in the guide to raising patient-safety concerns.

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