Britain's medicine regulator, the MHRA, approved Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight-loss pill on Thursday, June 11, 2026, making the UK the first European market where patients can access the oral treatment. This approval provides an alternative to injections for over 10 million people with obesity in the UK. The pill contains semaglutide, the identical active ingredient found in Novo Nordisk’s injectable drugs, Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes. Novo Nordisk received early approval for its weight-loss pill in the United States and launched it there this year, with Eli Lilly following suit with its oral medication, Foundayo, after regulatory clearance in April.\n\nBoth Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly believe that oral medications could appeal to patients who are reluctant to use injections, as they compete in the rapidly expanding obesity drug market, which analysts project to exceed 00 billion in revenue by 2030. The tablets, which must be taken on an empty stomach and 30 minutes before eating, offer a once-daily treatment option. The MHRA has specified a starting dose of 1.5mg once daily, escalating to 4mg, 9mg, and 25mg, with a minimum duration of one month at each dose level. Dr. Marie Spreckley of the University of Cambridge highlighted that an oral formulation may make treatment more acceptable for some patients.\n\nWhile the Wegovy pill will not immediately be available on the NHS, as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) needs to assess it first, it is expected to be accessible through private providers within weeks. Novo Nordisk is currently in active discussions with NICE but still needs to submit evidence for a recommendation. Last year, approximately 2.4 million people in the UK used GLP-1 drugs; however, only about 200,000 of these individuals accessed treatment through the state-run NHS, with the remainder obtaining them privately at costs potentially reaching hundreds of pounds monthly. The cost of the Wegovy pills in the UK is yet to be determined, though in the US, the 1.5mg starting dose was listed at 49 (around £110) a month [bbc.co.uk]. Olivier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, called the approval significant, suggesting it could make treatment more accessible and potentially reduce costs in the long term [bbc.co.uk].
