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The weight loss medication Wegovy is now available as a pill. The starting doses arrived at pharmacies across the country on Monday. Higher doses will ship out by the end of the week. NPR pharmaceuticals correspondent Sydney Lupkin reports on how it works and how much it will cost.
SYDNEY LUPKIN, BYLINE: Patients can now fill their prescriptions for a pill version of Wegovy. It contains the same active ingredient as the blockbuster injectable form of the drug - semaglutide. It's also similar to the Wegovy shot when it comes to safety and effectiveness. But patients have to take the daily pill on an empty stomach and wait half an hour before eating anything else for it to be properly absorbed. Here's Dr. Scott Isaacs, the past president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology.
SCOTT ISAACS: I am very careful to talk to my patients and make sure they understand that this is a medication that needs to be taken exactly as directed. And if it's not taken correctly, it may not work at all. It may be just a very expensive placebo.
LUPKIN: He says even a little coffee could make the Wegovy pill less effective. Affordability has been the greatest barrier for patients, however. For patients not using their health insurance, the cash price available from Novo Nordisk is $149 a month for the starting dose and $299 a month for the higher doses. The price that affects insurance coverage, called a list price, is the same as the Wegovy injection - around $1,400 a month. Novo Nordisk says people with insurance could have copays as low as $25 a month.
But insurance company coverage for weight loss drugs got more restrictive in 2025. That's according to a recent analysis by GoodRx, a website that helps patients find discounts on prescription drugs. The Food and Drug Administration approved the Wegovy pill on December 22. A competing obesity pill made by Eli Lilly is expected to win approval this year.
Sydney Lupkin, NPR News.
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