Wegovy in the UK: How it works, eligibility, cost, and what to expect

Your guide to the popular weight loss drug Wegovy, including what it is, how it works, who can take it, how much to take, and whether it’s worth it.

What is Wegovy?

Wegovy is a weight loss medication that contains the active ingredient semaglutide. It belongs to the group of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) medications that also includes Mounjaro (tirzepatide).

Wegovy is currently taken as a weekly injection by overweight or obese people for support with weight loss. However, a tablet form of Wegovy will soon be available in the UK too.

In clinical trials, Wegovy can help people lose an average 14.9% of their starting body weight in just 68 weeks. It’s an effective medication for supporting weight loss when combined with regular exercise and a balanced, reduced calorie diet.

How does Wegovy work?

Wegovy is a GLP-1 agonist, which means it works by making the body think levels of the GLP-1 hormone are high. GLP-1 is one of the hormones responsible for controlling hunger and digestion.

Acting similarly to the hormone GLP-1, Wegovy works to:

• Slow down how quickly the stomach empties, making you feel fuller for longer

• Improve blood sugar regulation

• Reduce hunger cues

Together, these actions make it easier for you to eat less and lose weight.

However, Wegovy won’t cause you to lose weight by itself. You’ll still need to take in fewer calories each day than you use up. This can be achieved by eating fewer calories and burning more calories through exercise.

Wegovy dosing

Wegovy is available in several different dose strengths. You will start the medication at the lowest dose and gradually work up to a maintenance dose. This process is the same whether you’re taking an injection or tablets, but the dose amounts are different.

Wegovy injection doses

For injections, you will start at the lowest dose of 0.25 mg taken once weekly.

You’ll receive a FlexTouch 0.25mg strength pen that contains four individual doses and use the pen to give yourself one injection a week, changing the needle before each injection.

After four weeks at this dose, you’ll increase the next dose and get a new higher-strength pen. You’ll continue this process, moving up a dose every four weeks until you reach your maintenance dose – the dose that you continue to take long-term.

By increasing your Wegovy dose slowly, you’ll give your body time to adjust to the higher amount of medication and reduce the chances of experiencing side effects.

The different doses of Wegovy available for injection include:

• 0.25 mg

• 0.5 mg

• 1 mg

• 1.7 mg

• 2.4 mg

• 7.2 mg

There are two possible maintenance doses that you’ll stay on long term: 2.4 mg or 7.2 mg.

Until recently, 2.4 mg was the highest maintenance dose but as of January 2026 the higher 7.2 mg dose has been approved. The 7.2 mg dose isn’t available with the usual Wegovy FlexPen injection device, so taking this higher dose currently means injecting yourself three times with a 2.4 mg dose pen.

As of April, a single-use 7.2mg Wegovy injection has been approved for use in the UK and is available at Quick meds. This will make it easier for people taking 7.2 mg going forwards. This pen only provides one single dose and so you will receive 4 pens per monthly order of this version of the 7.2mg Wegovy injection.

Wegovy tablet doses

Wegovy tablets for weight loss are currently going through the approval process in the UK and are already available in the US. These tablets contain different doses of Wegovy to the injections as the medication is absorbed differently through the stomach than when injected.

For Wegovy tablets, the dose will also start low and gradually increase every 30 days. Wegovy tablets will be available in the following dose strengths:

• 1.5 mg

• 4 mg

• 9 mg

• 25 mg

The maintenance dose of Wegovy tablets is likely to be 25mg, although more information will be available once the product is approved for use in the UK – this is likely to be late 2026 or early 2027.

Your prescriber will offer individual dosing advice when prescribing Wegovy for you, including information on when to increase your dose. You may need to increase your dose more slowly if you’re experiencing side effects.

Who can take Wegovy?

Wegovy is available for obese or overweight individuals with a BMI of 30 or higher. People with a BMI of 27 and above can also take the medication if they also experience a weight-related health condition like heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.

If you take certain medications or experience particular health conditions, Wegovy may not be suitable for you. This includes if you:

• Are allergic to any of the ingredients

• Are pregnant or breastfeeding

• Have or have previously had pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)

• Have or have previously had thyroid cancer

• Have a family history of certain types of cancer

• Plan to have surgery where you’ll need a general anaesthetic

• Have a diabetic eye condition

• Take multiple medications for diabetes, including insulin

It’s essential to talk to your prescriber about any medications you take before you begin starting Wegovy. They’ll be able to advise you whether the medicines may make each other less effective or increase the risk of an overdose.

How much does Wegovy cost?

The price of Wegovy varies depending on the dose you take and where you get your prescription from.

You can get Wegovy on an NHS prescription, meaning you’d just pay the NHS prescription fee in England or nothing in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

However, tight NHS prescription criteria that vary between different locations means getting an NHS Wegovy prescription can be a challenge. This is why most people buy Wegovy privately.

The cost of Wegovy varies when buying it from a private provider, with higher doses typically costing more. At Quick Meds, a month’s supply of Wegovy starts at £114.95.

Where can I get Wegovy?

You can get an NHS prescription for Wegovy from a specialist weight management service. However, whether you qualify for NHS treatment depends on where you live and whether you meet the criteria of your local NHS integrated care board.

Wegovy can currently only be prescribed on the NHS by a specialist weight management service which you have to be referred to and waiting lists can be very long.

To qualify, you’ll have to have a BMI of:

35 or more (or 32.5 or more if you’re of Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean origin)

OR

30 to 34.9 (or 27.5 to 32.4 if you’re of Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean origin) if you meet other criteria to be treated by a specialist weight management service

If you are able to get an NHS Wegovy prescription, this can be filled at any NHS or highstreet pharmacy. If it’s more convenient, send your prescription to the Quick Meds team to have your NHS Wegovy prescription filled and delivered straight to your door.

You can purchase a private Wegovy prescription from a private health provider or a regulated online prescription service like Quick Meds. We offer a convenient online weight management service run by our team of qualified UK pharmacists.

To get your Wegovy, start by filling in the online weight loss consultation. One of our team will then review your information and prescribe your medication if it’s safe to do so. Once prescribed, your Wegovy pen will be securely packaged and sent to your delivery address or local collection point.

What results can I expect with Wegovy?

Wegovy is an effective weight loss drug when combined with diet and exercise changes.

In clinical trials, individuals taking the 2.4 mg dose lost an average 15.2% of their starting bodyweight after 102 weeks. While taking this same dose, 74.7% of people lost at least 5% of their bodyweight and 34.5% lost 20% or more.

The 7.2 mg Wegovy dose was recently approved for use as this can lead to even greater weight loss. At this higher dose, people lost an average 18.7% of their bodyweight after 72 weeks and 90.7% of people lost at least 5% of their bodyweight.

Results do vary from person to person and will depend on the diet and exercise changes you make alongside taking the medication.

You may need to take Wegovy for several weeks or even months before you start to notice any significant weight loss. This is to give your body time to get used to the medication and allow for the dose to be increased to your maintenance dose.

Wegovy side effects

Although many people take Wegovy without any issues, some people do experience side effects.

Most side effects are mild and go away by themselves, with the most common being:

• Headaches

• Vomiting/nausea

• Diarrhoea

• Constipation

• Stomach pain

• Tiredness/fatigue

Some of the serious side effects to be aware of include:

• Complications of diabetes-related eye problems (may appear as changes in vision)

• Pancreas inflammation/pancreatitis (may appear as severe stomach/back pain or nausea/vomiting)

• Kidney/bladder stones (may appear as lower stomach/back pain, problems urinating, or changes to urine)

• Severe allergic reactions (may appear as problems breathing, fainting, or face/airway swelling)

• Hip fractures

• Bowel obstruction/blockage (may appear as constipation with pain, bloating, or vomiting)

If you’re worried you’re experiencing any of these side effects, visit A&E or call 999.

A full list of possible side effects associated with Wegovy can be found in the information leaflet inside the medication packaging.

Wegovy vs other weight loss drugs

Wegovy is part of the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug family and works in a similar way to two other weight loss injections: Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and liraglutide.

Wegovy vs Mounjaro

Mounjaro mimics the GLP-1 hormone in a similar way to Wegovy, but it mimics another hormone too called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). This means that Mounjaro may lead to slightly greater weight loss.

In a clinical trial directly comparing Mounjaro and Wegovy, participants taking Mounjaro lost an average 20.2% of their bodyweight compared to 13.7% in the Wegovy group after 72 weeks.

However, in this study, the Wegovy group only received the 2.4 mg maintenance dose. A 7.2 mg maintenance dose has now been approved, with participants on this dose losing 18.7% of their bodyweight after 72 weeks in another trial, putting the weight loss results with Wegovy and Mounjaro at a similar level.

Both Mounjaro and Wegovy are taken as weekly injections (with Wegovy tablets set to be approved for use in the UK soon), but Mounjaro tends to be more expensive than Wegovy.

Wegovy vs Liraglutide

Liraglutide is also a GLP-1 medication, but it’s taken as a daily injection rather than weekly. It tends to be cheaper than both Wegovy and Mounjaro.

In a clinical trial comparing the two medications, Wegovy led to significantly more weight loss: an average -15.8% bodyweight loss with Wegovy compared to – 6.4% with liraglutide after 68 weeks.

Wegovy vs non-GLP-1 weight loss medications

Other weight loss medications include orlistat (Xenical/alli) and Mysimba, both taken as tablets. These tend to be cheaper than GLP-1 medications but not quite so effective. They’re a good option for people who are unable to take GLP-1 medication or who are looking for something cheaper.

Orlistat (also sold under the brand names Xenical and alli) is a medication that reduces how much fat you absorb from your food. This in turn helps to reduce how many calories you consume, supporting you to lose weight. In initial clinical trials, people taking orlistat lost an average 10.2% of their bodyweight in 52 weeks.

Mysimba is a weight loss medication that contains two ingredients: bupropion and naltrexone. It helps reduce food cravings and appetite, making it easier to lose weight. In clinical trials, people taking Mysimba lost an average 5.4% of their bodyweight after 56 weeks.

Quick Meds offer a variety of weight loss medications to support you on your weight loss journey. Start an online weight loss consultation for individualised advice on the best option for you and to order your chosen weight loss medication for convenient home delivery.

Is Wegovy worth it?

If you’ve being struggling to lose weight via exercise and diet changes alone, Wegovy could be a good option for you. It’s an effective weight loss drug for many people, although it does still rely on you exercising regularly and eating a reduced calorie diet to work.

However, Wegovy isn’t suitable for everyone and can come with side effects. It’s essential to discuss your individual circumstances with a healthcare professional before starting treatment.