When is Wegovy UK release date?

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

What is Wegovy?

Wegovy is a weight loss medication that can help you control your appetite and decrease cravings. When combined with a low-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and healthy lifestyle choices, it can be a very effective medication for long-term weight loss.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy. It belongs to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

It's a quick and simple injection liquid solution in a single-dose pen. Wegovy will be injected under the skin by you once weekly, unlike the Saxenda injection which is once daily. It easy to use and don’t worry, you have access to the entire process on the Wegovy product page.

When will Wegovy be available in UK?

According to the 2019 Health Survey for England, 28% of adults in England are obese, and 36% are overweight. It is reported that the NHS obesity costs the NHS £6 billion annually (or £27 billion to society as a whole) a figure which is expected to rise to over £9.7 billion each year by 2050. (1)

One of the main questions many people have been asking as of late is, when will Wegovy be available in UK? Well, last week, the UK government announced a £40 million pilot scheme to investigate ways of making the obesity medicine such as Wegovy available to many more individuals living in the UK, this is with the aim to lessen the burden of obesity on the NHS and cut waiting times. (2)

While similar products containing weight loss medications, such as Saxenda, are presently accessible in the UK, Wegovy aims to launch in the UK in 2023, although, there is no news of the Wegovy UK release date yet.

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) authorised Wegovy in September 2021.

According to the The UK / European medicines licensing agency, Wegovy will be available as an addition to a low-calorie diet and increased physical activity for weight management, including weight loss and weight maintenance, in individuals with:

30 kg/m2 (obesity) or above
27 kg/m2 to 30 kg/m2 (overweight) if at least one weight-related comorbidity exists.

How do you qualify for a Wegovy NHS prescription?

Wegovy is not even available from the NHS yet, however, once it is, to receive a Wegovy prescription from your GP in the UK, there is specific criteria you need to meet:

Have a BMI of 30 or above.
Have no diagnosis or family history of thyroid cancer.
Have no diagnostic or family history of pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis.
Have poorly controlled type 2 diabetes.
Metformin treatment is deemed ineffective.

Wegovy vs other weight loss treatments

So, what makes Wegovy different to our other weight loss treatments? Check out the comparison table below where we compare some of our most popular weight loss aids such as Orlistat, Saxenda and Alli with Wegovy.

Medicine	Active Ingredient	Dosage	Form	Prescription Required?	Condition
Wegovy	Semaglutide	from 0.25 mg to 2.4 mg once weekly	Injection	Yes	Must have a BMI over 30 or over 27 in patients with weight-associated health conditions.
Saxenda	Liraglutide	From 0.6mg to 3.0mg once daily	Injection	Yes	Must have a BMI over 30 or over 27 in patients with weight-associated health conditions.
Orlistat	Orlistat	120mg three times a day	Capsule	Yes	BMI of over 30, or those who have a BMI of 28-30 and who suffer from other risk factors, such as diabetes.
Alli	Orlistat	60 mg three times daily	Capsule	No	Alli can be used by individuals who are overweight, with a BMI >28.

Other weight loss alternatives

The good news is, you don’t necessarily have to wait for Wegovy to become available, you may be able to start on one form of weight loss medication and swap to Wegovy if you still feel it’s necessary*.

Check out our blog: Switching From Saxenda to Wegovy

So, now let’s take a more detailed look at a few of our most popular weight loss aids and alternatives to Wegovy:

Saxenda

As you can see from the table above, Saxenda is the most similar available weight loss aid to Wegovy. The main ingredient in Saxenda works in a similar way to Wegovy, as it also belongs to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

The main different between the two is the dose, while Saxenda needs to be injected daily, the use of Wegovy only requires a once weekly injection, which in turn will make things easier for those who don’t like injecting or can be short of time in the morning.

Orlistat

While Orlistat works in a different way to Wegovy and Saxenda, it is still an effective weight loss aid and a popular option for many.

Orlistat is taken orally in capsule form and works by preventing your body from absorbing around 30% of the fat from the food you eat. Like Saxenda and Wegovy, this medicine is most effective alongside an exercise and healthy eating regime. You can expect to see results in 1 - 3 months; aiming to lose 5% of your starting body weight in 3 months.

Taking orlistat can also help keep you from gaining the weight back that you have lost and can be used as a maintenance treatment unlike Saxenda which must be discontinued once you get down to a certain weight.

Orlistat is available as branded versions, Xenical, Alli, and Orlis, as well as the generic medication Orlistat which is cheaper than the two GLP-1 injections. Starting from £17.49 it’s often a first-choice treatment before someone will go on to try the Saxenda injection starting from £59.99. *

The Wegovy UK price has not yet been released, although, we predict that this medication is likely to start between £80 - £100 per pen.

* Prices as of 19.06.23 and are subject to change.

Where can I buy Wegovy?

Wegovy will hopefully be available to buy from Oxford Online Pharmacy once the stock becomes available to pharmacies in the UK. To get on our Wegovy waiting list follow this link and if you register your email where instructed, you will get an alert when this product is in stock.

There will be no need to get a prescription from your doctor as our online doctor’s service enables our doctors to issue a free of charge prescription for you.* We are hoping to offer Wegovy when it is available or similar.

You can find more information about how to use our process here.

If you have any more questions that may not be covered in our literature, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our dedicated healthcare team.

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