New Weight-Loss Pills Approved in the UK: What the Wegovy and Foundayo Tablets Mean for You
Updated: Oct 10
For years, the most powerful weight-loss medicines in the UK — the GLP-1 drugs you've probably heard of, like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro — only came as injections. You had to use a needle to inject them under your skin, usually once a week.
That's changing. In the summer of 2026, the MHRA (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency — the UK's medicines regulator, which decides if a medicine is safe enough to be prescribed here) approved two brand-new pill versions of these drugs. No needles required. Let's break down what they are, how well they work, and what it means if you or someone you know is thinking about weight-loss medicine.
A quick refresher: what is a GLP-1 drug?
GLP-1 is a hormone your gut already makes after you eat. It tells your brain "I'm full" and slows down digestion. Weight-loss drugs like semaglutide (the medicine in Wegovy) and tirzepatide (the medicine in Mounjaro) copy this hormone, so people feel full faster and eat less.
Until recently, these medicines had a problem: GLP-1 is a peptide, which just means it's a small chain of building blocks called amino acids. Stomach acid destroys peptides very easily, the same way it breaks down the protein in your food. That's why the medicine had to be injected — to skip the stomach entirely and go straight into the body.
Pill Number 1: The new Wegovy tablet
On 11 June 2026, the MHRA approved a pill version of semaglutide for weight loss, sold under the Wegovy name. It's approved for adults with obesity (a BMI of 30 or above) or those who are overweight (BMI 27–30) with at least one weight-related health condition, alongside diet and exercise.
Because it's still a peptide underneath, this pill has strict rules for how it's taken: on an empty stomach after fasting for 8 hours, with just a small sip of water, then waiting 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything else. The dose starts at 1.5 mg and increases roughly monthly, up to a maximum of 25 mg. People already using the 2.4 mg weekly injection can switch straight to the 25 mg tablet.
In the international trial that supported this approval, called OASIS 4, people who stuck with the pill lost about 17% of their body weight on average, compared to just 3% for people taking a placebo (a fake pill with no real medicine, used in studies to compare results).
Common side effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, and vomiting — the same kinds of effects seen with the injection.
Pill Number 2: Foundayo, a totally new kind of molecule
On 10 August 2026, the MHRA approved a second oral option: Foundayo, made by Eli Lilly. Its drug name is orforglipron, and the UK was the first country in Europe to approve it. It's licensed both for weight management (same BMI criteria as above) and for helping control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes.
Foundayo works a bit differently to the Wegovy pill. Instead of being a peptide, orforglipron is what scientists call a "small molecule" — more like paracetamol or ibuprofen than like a hormone. Small molecules don't get destroyed by stomach acid the way peptides do. That's a big deal, because it means Foundayo doesn't need the strict fasting rules the Wegovy tablet requires. You can take it once a day, at any time, with or without food or water.
The dose starts at 0.8 mg and rises through 2.5 mg, 5.5 mg, 9 mg, 14.5 mg, and 17.2 mg, staying at each level for at least a month. In its main trial, ATTAIN-1, people taking the highest dose lost about 12.4% of their body weight on average (around 27 pounds, or roughly two stone), compared to 2.1% for the placebo group. That's somewhat less than the biggest average losses seen with injections like Mounjaro, but still a meaningful amount — and for many people, not needing a needle matters a lot.
Side effects reported are similar to other GLP-1 medicines: nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, dyspepsia (indigestion), and abdominal pain.
Can you get either pill on the NHS?
Not yet. As of these approvals, both pills are prescription-only medicines that are not currently available on the NHS. Before the NHS can offer them, they need to be assessed by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), which decides whether a treatment is worth the NHS paying for it. That process takes time.
Right now, NHS access to any GLP-1 weight-loss medicine is limited to specialist weight management services, with strict eligibility rules — generally a higher BMI plus other health conditions — and demand outstrips the places available. Because of that gap, many people currently get GLP-1 injections through private prescribers and pharmacies instead, paying out of pocket. Once the new pills reach pharmacies, they're expected to follow a similar private-first path, at least until NICE reaches a decision; pricing hadn't been widely published at the time of the approvals.
So... are pills better than jabs?
Not exactly better — just different. Here's how to think about it:
Convenience: Pills win for a lot of people. No needles, no fridge storage, easier to carry on holiday or when travelling.
Strength: Injections still tend to produce more weight loss on average, especially the higher doses of drugs like Mounjaro. If someone needs to lose the maximum amount possible, their clinician might still recommend an injection.
Access and cost: Neither pill is on the NHS yet, and private costs for GLP-1 medicines in the UK already run into hundreds of pounds a month for injections — the pills aren't likely to be cheaper by default just because they're swallowed rather than injected.
Manufacturing: Pills are generally easier and cheaper to make at large scale than injectable pens, which some experts hope could eventually help ease the supply issues that have affected these medicines in the past.
The bottom line
Having pill options doesn't replace the need for a clinician's guidance. Weight-loss medicines, whether swallowed or injected, work best combined with healthy eating and movement, and they come with real side effects and risks that a clinician should walk through with each patient. But for people who've avoided these medicines because of needle fear or the hassle of storing an injection pen, 2026 has opened up genuine new choices in the UK.
Thinking about weight-loss treatment?
Find out in 2 minutes whether our programme is right for you. There's no charge if you're not eligible.
References
- [First GLP-1 tablet for weight loss approved in the UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-glp-1-tablet-for-weight-loss-approved-in-the-uk) — MHRA / GOV.UK, June 2026
- [UK first in Europe to authorise orforglipron for weight management and type 2 diabetes](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-first-in-europe-to-authorise-orforglipron-for-weight-management-and-type-2-diabetes) — MHRA / GOV.UK, August 2026
- [FDA approves Lilly's Foundayo™ (orforglipron)...](https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/fda-approves-lillys-foundayotm-orforglipron-only-glp-1-pill) — Eli Lilly and Company, April 2026 (ATTAIN-1 trial data)
- [FDA approves Novo Nordisk's Wegovy® pill...](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-approves-novo-nordisks-wegovy-pill-the-first-and-only-oral-glp-1-for-weight-loss-in-adults-302648344.html) — PR Newswire / Novo Nordisk, December 2025 (OASIS 4 trial data)
Comments