For its first years in the UK, Wegovy's maximum dose was 2.4mg once a week. In 2026 that changed. Following the STEP UP trial, the MHRA approved a higher 7.2mg maintenance dose, three times the previous maximum, for adults living with obesity. This guide explains what the 7.2mg dose is, how much extra weight loss it delivers, who is eligible, and the one side effect that becomes more common at the higher dose.
What "Wegovy 7.2mg" actually is
It is the same medicine, semaglutide, a weekly GLP-1 injection, at a higher maintenance dose. It is not a new drug and not a different molecule. You still start at 0.25mg and titrate slowly upward; 7.2mg simply extends the dose ladder beyond the previous 2.4mg ceiling for people who need more. Since 14 April 2026 it comes as single-dose pens in a pack of four, one pen for each weekly dose, which is what we supply, so the full weekly dose is one injection. (When the higher dose was first authorised in January 2026, it was given as three 2.4mg injections on the same day, which is why you may still see it described as "triple-strength Wegovy".)
How much more weight loss? The STEP UP trial
STEP UP was a 72-week, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3b trial of 1,407 adults with obesity and without type 2 diabetes, comparing semaglutide 7.2mg, 2.4mg and placebo (Wharton S et al., Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2025).
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. Among those who stayed on treatment, the averages were 20.7% and 17.5%. Individual results vary.
In the STEP UP trial (Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 2025), 48% of adults with obesity taking Wegovy 7.2mg lost at least 20% of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared with 33% on 2.4mg and 3% on placebo, and 31% lost at least 25%, compared with 15% on 2.4mg and none on placebo, whether or not they stayed on treatment. Individual results vary.
"The higher dose is a meaningful step up for people who've done everything right on 2.4mg but need more."
Who is eligible for 7.2mg?
This is the most important part, and where a lot of online information is wrong. In the UK the 7.2mg dose is licensed for obesity, a BMI of 30 or above, only. It is not licensed for people using Wegovy in the BMI 27 to 30 range (who stay at up to 2.4mg), and not for the cardiovascular-risk-reduction indication, which remains at 2.4mg based on the SELECT trial. You would only move to 7.2mg after titrating up through the standard doses and reaching 2.4mg first, typically from around week 20 onward, and only if your prescriber judges you need additional weight loss and are tolerating treatment well. Escalation is always a clinical decision, never automatic.
Side effects: what changes at the higher dose
The overall side-effect profile is the familiar GLP-1 one, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation and stomach pain, mostly during dose increases and mostly settling with time. Reassuringly, serious adverse events in STEP UP were no higher on 7.2mg than on 2.4mg. There is one new signal worth knowing about. Dysaesthesia, an altered skin sensation such as tingling, prickling or a mild burning feeling, was reported by about 23% of people on 7.2mg, versus 6% on 2.4mg. It was usually mild and resolved for most people while they stayed on treatment, but it's the clearest dose-related difference and something your pharmacist will ask about.
7.2mg Wegovy vs Mounjaro
In the SURMOUNT-1 trial (New England Journal of Medicine, 2022), adults without diabetes who took tirzepatide 15mg alongside diet and activity advice lost an average of 20.9% of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared with 3.1% on placebo, counting everyone who started treatment. Among people who stayed on treatment, the average was 22.5%. On 15mg, 91% lost at least 5% of their weight, compared with 35% on placebo. Individual results vary.
In SURMOUNT-5 (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025), a 72-week trial comparing the two medicines directly in 751 adults with obesity but not diabetes, people on the highest dose they could tolerate of tirzepatide lost an average of 20.2% of their body weight, compared with 13.7% on semaglutide. Individual results vary. No trial has compared Wegovy 7.2mg with tirzepatide directly; SURMOUNT-5 used semaglutide doses up to 2.4mg.
Wegovy 2.4mg is the only weight-management medicine with a UK licence to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, for adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more. Which medicine and dose suits you depends on your goals and full medical history, exactly what our consultation is designed to work out.
Availability in the UK
The 7.2mg dose is approved and available privately through registered pharmacies, including QuickCare Pharmacy through Solira, for eligible patients with obesity. It is not currently available on the NHS at this dose, which requires a separate NICE assessment. As with all our treatments, you'll complete an online consultation reviewed by a GPhC-registered pharmacist before any medication is supplied.