New oral GLP-1 medicines are expanding treatment options for obesity, while injections remain an important part of a rapidly growing market.
Weight-loss treatment is becoming less dependent on injections as pharmaceutical companies introduce daily pills. The approvals give eligible patients additional ways to manage obesity, although oral medicines still require medical assessment and ongoing monitoring.
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill, containing semaglutide, received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval on 22 December 2025. It is approved alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for adults with obesity, or overweight accompanied by weight-related medical conditions. The European Commission subsequently approved the oral formulation in July 2026.
A second option arrived on 1 April 2026, when the FDA approved Eli Lilly’s Foundayo, the brand name for orforglipron. The once-daily tablet is also intended for eligible adults seeking to lose weight and maintain that reduction. Unlike oral formulations with specific fasting instructions, Foundayo can be taken without food or water restrictions—a practical difference for patients fitting treatment into everyday routines.
The developments come amid strong commercial demand. Lilly reported that second-quarter 2026 sales of Mounjaro reached approximately $9.94 billion, up 91% from a year earlier. Mounjaro is an injectable medicine, so those figures reflect the broader market rather than sales of the new pills. Lilly separately reported $98 million in quarterly Foundayo revenue.
Novo Nordisk also raised its adjusted sales and operating-profit outlook in August, citing rapid adoption of the Wegovy pill alongside other growth drivers. The company reported more than five million U.S. prescriptions for the pill since its launch.
Meanwhile, researchers are pursuing additional approaches. Lilly’s retatrutide targets three hormone receptors involved in metabolic regulation. It remains an investigational once-weekly injection, with no regulatory approval, illustrating how the next generation of treatment includes both oral and injectable medicines.
Taking a tablet does not remove the risks associated with treatment. Reported side effects include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Foundayo’s FDA-approved labelling also includes warnings concerning pancreatitis, severe gastrointestinal reactions and dehydration-related kidney injury, alongside a boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumours.
For patients, the expanding range offers greater choice. The appropriate medicine will depend on eligibility, medical history, tolerability and the practical demands of sustained treatment.
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