Could Orforglipron Offer a New Maintenance Option After Weight Loss Injections?

Orforglipron is a weight loss tablet that was recently approved by the FDA for use in the US but is not yet approved for use in the UK. It is a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist like Wegovy/Ozempic and Mounjaro.

Unlike other GLP-1 medications that are mostly taken as injections, orforglipron is a weight loss tablet. It’s currently the only GLP-1 pill that can be taken any time of day without any rules around eating and drinking before or after taking it. You’ll still need to eat a reduced calorie, balanced diet and exercise regularly for it to help you lose weight.

In this article, we’ll explore the role of orforglipron for weight loss and weight management.

Why long-term weight maintenance matters

Losing weight is an essential step towards a healthier body and lifestyle for obese or overweight individuals. However, after losing weight, it’s also important to maintain it in order to gain the most long-term health benefits.

Weight maintenance can be more challenging than losing weight as it means maintaining your habits rather than making short-term changes.

Many people can lose weight in the short-term through dieting, intense exercise programmes, or with the help of weight loss drugs. But to avoid regaining weight, you’ll need to make healthy, sustainable changes to your diet and exercise habits.

Weight loss medications can play a role in both weight loss and weight maintenance, but not everyone wants to continue taking weight loss injections long-term.

Why do people stop weight loss injections?

People may stop weight loss injections like Wegovy or Mounjaro for many different reasons.

Cost

In the UK, the average price for a month’s supply of Mounjaro varies from £150-£375 while Wegovy costs between £79-£300 per month. The price usually increases as the dose strength goes up.

If someone’s personal circumstances change and they can no longer afford this cost, they may stop taking the medication. Some people also decide that they don’t want to keep paying for medication when they’ve lost a good amount of weight, so they may also decide to stop.

Side effects

Some people taking weight loss medication experience side effects. Very common side effects impact more than 1 in 10 people taking the medication and include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, headaches (Wegovy only), fatigue (Wegovy only), and low blood sugar when taken with diabetes medication (Mounjaro only). Other side effects are possible but less common.

Although side effects tend to improve or even disappear as your body gets used to the medication, you’ll need to stop taking GLP-1 medication if your side effects are severe and you’re advised to do so by a healthcare professional.

In some cases, individuals decide that the side effects are affecting their life too much and stop taking their weight loss injections. It may be possible to switch to an alternative medication in this situation.

Injection fatigue

It can be uncomfortable to take weight loss injections and requires some organisation.

You’ll need to plan:

• when and where to take your injection every week

• where on your body to inject yourself, making sure to change locations each time

• where to store your open and unopened injection pens

• when to order more medication

• when to increase the dose

• what to do when travelling

For some people, this planning and the discomfort of injecting yourself can become too much and you may decide to stop taking GLP-1 injections.

What happens after stopping GLP-1s?

It’s common to regain weight after stopping GLP-1 injections.

As levels of the medication drop in the body, the impact it has on hunger cues and metabolism stops. This means “food noise” returns and hunger levels increase, making it harder to eat a healthy, lower-calorie diet.

In a 2026 review of the literature, people regained an average 0.4kg per month after stopping GLP-1s. When comparing people who lost weight using medication vs. behavioural management programmes, those on weight loss medications regained weight more quickly. However, they had also lost more weight on average before stopping.

After stopping Mounjaro or Wegovy injections, people returned to their starting weight after 1.5 years on average.

It can be frustrating to hear that many people regain the weight they lost after stopping weight loss medication, but weight regain doesn’t have to be inevitable. Not everyone who stops these medications regains everything they lost.

If you’re committed to a reduced-calorie, balanced diet and regular exercise, it’s still possible to keep off the weight you’ve lost. You may also consider getting help from a weight loss maintenance tablet like orforglipron in the future.

What the new Orforglipron maintenance study suggests

Published in May 2026, a recent study investigated the weight loss tablet orforglipron as for weight maintenance.

Orforglipron is in the same class of medication as Mounjaro and Wegovy - the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist family. This means it works in a similar way to slow down how fast the stomach empties, regulate blood sugar levels, and reduce hunger cues, making you feel fuller for longer.

However, unlike these other two medications, it’s taken as a daily tablet rather than a weekly injection (although a Wegovy tablet has recently received approval in the UK).

In the recent orforglipron maintenance trial, people who had already taken Mounjaro or Wegovy for 72 weeks were switched to either orforglipron or a placebo (non-active tablet). After 52 weeks taking the tablets, people taking orforglipron kept off significantly more of the weight they’d lost.

Of the people who were previously taking Mounjaro, the orforglipron group kept off 75% of the weight they’d lost compared to just 49% in the placebo group. For the group who’d switched from Wegovy, those taking orforglipron kept off 79% of the weight they’d previously lost compared to 38% taking the placebo.

Although side effects did occur in some cases, they were mostly mild to moderate and similar to the side effects of GLP-1 injections (like vomiting, nausea, and diarrhoea).

Could an oral maintenance option be easier?

An oral weight loss management medication could be an easier way to maintain a healthy bodyweight.

In orforglipron weight loss studies, the medication helped people lose an average 10-15% of their bodyweight on the highest dose in 72 weeks. This is less than the average weight loss associated with Wegovy (18.7%) or Mounjaro (22.5%) over the same time period but still an impressive amount of weight loss.

The orforglipron weight maintenance study suggests orforglipron tablets may not help weight loss maintenance as much as GLP-1 injections either. However, they can help people maintain nearly all the weight they’ve lost, and many people may find it easier to take a tablet than an injection, especially long-term.

Orforglipron could be a good weight loss maintenance option for people who don’t want to continue with injections.

Who the oral weight loss medication Orforglipron may suit

Orforglipron could be a great alternative to GLP-1 injections in the future for people who are scared of injections, unable to take them for medical reasons, or who would prefer a more convenient option.

This medication could also be used as a weight maintenance tablet for people looking for a convenient long-term way to manage their weight, but who don’t want to keep taking injections. Many people find it easier to take a tablet than an injection, making orforglipron a less invasive, simpler treatment option.

Orforglipron doesn’t have any special requirements around storage like GLP-1 injections do and can be taken with or without food (unlike oral Wegovy tablets).

Limitations of Orforglipron

Orforglipron is taken every day while most GLP-1 injections are taken weekly – some people may find it inconvenient to take medication every day.

We’ve also already mentioned that orforglipron may not help you to lose as much weight as with GLP-1 injections. This is something to think about if you’re considering switching in the future.

As orforglipron isn’t yet available in the UK, we don’t yet know how much it will cost – it may be cheaper than GLP-1 injections, a similar price, or more expensive.

Orforglipron in the UK

Orforglipron was approved by the FDA for use in the US in April 2026 under the brand name Foundayo. However, it is still going through the approval process in the UK.

This means the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are reviewing the available data on orforglipron to see if they will license it for use in the UK. You will not be able to purchase the medication until it’s licensed in the UK.

Currently, an answer is expected from the MHRA by the end of 2026, and orforglipron may be licensed in early 2027. However, this is not certain and things can change.

The licensing of the medication will impact the rules around prescribing it, including the dosing schedule and who it’s suitable for.

After licensing, orforglipron will be available from private providers such as Quick Meds. In the meantime, we offer online weight loss consultations and a variety of GLP-1 injections.

It can take several years after licensing for medications to be routinely used within the NHS, so you can expect it to take much longer to get orforglipron on the NHS and there to be strict rules around who is eligible.