Are Wegovy Tablets as Effective as the Injection?

Short answer: each was tested against placebo in its own trial. Adults taking Wegovy tablets 25mg once a day lost an average of 13.6% of their body weight over 64 weeks in OASIS 4 (2.2% on placebo), and adults on the weekly Wegovy 2.4mg injection lost 14.9% over 68 weeks in STEP 1 (2.4% on placebo), counting everyone who started treatment. These were separate trials in different groups of people, so the figures are not a direct comparison. Individual results vary.

At 25mg a day, the Wegovy tablet gives average blood levels of semaglutide comparable to the weekly 2.4mg Wegovy injection, but they vary more from person to person, which is why taking the tablet exactly as directed matters. Everything in this guide comes from the UK product information for both forms and the trials it reports. A GPhC-registered pharmacist reviews every order before anything is supplied.

Does the Wegovy pill work?

In the OASIS 4 trial, 307 adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one weight-related condition, took Wegovy tablets 25mg or placebo once a day for 64 weeks, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity. Those on the tablets lost an average of 13.6% of their body weight, against 2.2% on placebo, counting everyone who started treatment, and 76.3% lost at least 5% (30.5% on placebo). Weight loss began early and continued throughout the trial. Individual results vary. How quickly it builds, dose by dose, is in our guide to Wegovy pill results.

Why is the Wegovy tablet dose so much higher than the injection?

Very little of a semaglutide tablet reaches the bloodstream: the product information estimates about 1 to 2% of each dose. The tablet contains an ingredient, salcaprozate sodium, that helps semaglutide to be absorbed, mostly in the stomach, and food or a large drink of water taken with it reduces how much gets in. That is why the maintenance dose is a 25mg tablet every day, where the injection is 2.4mg once a week.

The licence sets the routine: take the tablet on an empty stomach after at least 8 hours without food, swallow it whole with a sip of water (up to 120ml), then wait at least 30 minutes before eating, drinking or taking other medicines. Our guide on how to take the Wegovy pill goes through it step by step.

How do the trial results compare?

• Oral semaglutide 25mg (OASIS 4): In the OASIS 4 trial (NEJM, 2025), adults with overweight or obesity who took oral semaglutide 25mg once a day lost an average of 13.6% of their body weight over 64 weeks, compared with 2.2% on placebo, counting everyone who started treatment. 27.5% lost 20% or more, against 3% on placebo. Assuming everyone had stayed on treatment, the estimated average was 16.6% (2.8% on placebo).
• Injectable semaglutide 2.4mg (STEP 1): In the STEP 1 trial (New England Journal of Medicine, 2021), 1,961 adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes took Wegovy 2.4mg or placebo once a week for 68 weeks alongside diet and activity advice. People on Wegovy lost an average of 14.9% of their body weight, compared with 2.4% on placebo, counting everyone who started treatment. Assuming everyone had stayed on treatment, the estimated average was 16.9%.
• Injectable semaglutide 7.2mg (STEP UP): In the STEP UP trial (Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 2025), adults with obesity and without diabetes lost an average of 18.7% of their body weight over 72 weeks on 7.2mg, compared with 15.6% on 2.4mg and 3.9% on placebo, counting everyone who started treatment. Assuming everyone had stayed on treatment, the estimated averages were 20.7% and 17.5%.

Across the weight loss medicines we supply, the averages in their own trials of 64 to 72 weeks, counting everyone who started, were about 11% with Foundayo on the dose matching its highest, 17.2mg (ATTAIN-1), about 14% with Wegovy tablets 25mg (OASIS 4), about 15% with Wegovy 2.4mg (STEP 1), about 19% with Wegovy 7.2mg (STEP UP) and about 21% with Mounjaro 15mg (SURMOUNT-1).

These were separate trials in different groups of people, so the figures are not a direct comparison. Individual results vary.

Does how you take the tablet change how well it works?

It can. The product information says that waiting less than 30 minutes before eating, drinking or taking other medicines reduces how much semaglutide is absorbed, that absorption of the tablet can vary, and that sticking to the dosing routine is recommended to get the full effect. If needles are what has kept you from starting treatment, a daily tablet may be easier to begin. If you know an empty-stomach morning will be hard to keep, say so: the weekly injection can be taken at any time of day, with or without meals.

Do the side effects differ between the tablet and the injection?

They are broadly the same. The Wegovy tablets product information says the side effects in OASIS 4 happened at similar rates to those in the injection trials, except indigestion, which was more common with the tablets. In OASIS 4, nausea was reported by 46.6% of people on the tablets over 64 weeks (18.6% on placebo). Stomach and gut side effects were reported most often while the dose was being increased, and most were mild to moderate. These were separate trials in different groups of people, so the figures are not a direct comparison. Individual results vary. More detail is in our guide to Wegovy pill side effects.

When might the tablet suit you better?

• Needles are the reason you have put off treatment.
• You would rather take a tablet each morning as part of a routine than an injection once a week.
• You want nothing to keep in the fridge: the tablets need no special temperature storage (kept in their blister to protect them from moisture and light), while Wegovy pens are kept in a fridge before first use.

When might the injection suit you better?

• Wegovy 2.4mg injection is also licensed to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, for adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more. Wegovy tablets are licensed for weight management.
• You want the option of the higher 7.2mg dose, a weekly injection licensed for adults with obesity (a BMI of 30 or more).
• Your mornings cannot reliably fit the empty-stomach routine, or you would rather take something once a week.

Pricing rises with each dose step, so the cost depends on where you settle. For the full per-dose breakdown, see current UK Wegovy tablet prices, or read the full titration schedule to see how long you'd spend at each step.

What about Foundayo, the other weight loss tablet?

Foundayo (orforglipron), a second GLP-1 tablet for weight loss, was approved by the MHRA on 10 August 2026. It is taken once a day at any time of day, without food or water restrictions, which changes the tablet versus injection trade-off again. It is available at Solira. You can read our full Foundayo guide, or see how it compares to Wegovy tablets.