What is semaglutide?

Semaglutide is the active GLP-1 receptor agonist in Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management.

Semaglutide is the active GLP-1 receptor agonist in Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management. Semaglutide is a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist made by Novo Nordisk. It mimics natural GLP-1 but resists breakdown, so a once-weekly injection (or once-daily oral pill) is enough to keep the receptor activated. Ozempic is the type-2-diabetes brand (up to 2 mg/week). Wegovy is the weight-management brand: 2.4 mg/week is the usual maintenance dose, some adults go up to 7.2 mg/week, and the Wegovy pill is 25 mg/day. Rybelsus is the daily oral diabetes tablet (up to 14 mg). All three are the same molecule at different doses and routes. In the main weight-management trials, average weight loss was about 15% at 2.4 mg (STEP 1, 68 weeks) and about 19% at 7.2 mg (STEP UP, 72 weeks).

Related pages

• Ozempic tracker
• Wegovy tracker
• Ozempic vs Wegovy
• GLP-1 glossary

Get the GLPeak app

Download GLPeak on the App Store · Get GLPeak on Google Play