What semaglutide does
Semaglutide acts like a gut hormone—a body signal linked to blood sugar and feeling full.
Ask what change the medicine is meant to make for your health.
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The medicine
Know the name on the prescription
Semaglutide is the ingredient name. The product name and form tell you more about what is being discussed.
The source notes used here were recorded on or before September 26, 2026. Later changes may be missing.
Similar names can hide different uses
As recorded on September 26, 2026, Wegovy (semaglutide) has approval for weight management alongside food and activity changes.
Ozempic (semaglutide) has approved uses for adults with type 2 diabetes, a condition affecting blood sugar.
Its label does not include weight loss as an approved use.
A prescriber may legally select a purpose outside an approved medicine’s label, a practice called off-label prescribing.
The same dated record includes both tablet and injection forms under the Ozempic and Wegovy names.
Rybelsus (semaglutide) tablets are being replaced by Ozempic tablets, but the record gives no final supply date.
Wegovy is approved for weight treatment in adults with obesity. Adults with overweight also qualify for this approved use if they have another health problem related to weight.
Check the word “generic”
On September 26, 2026, no generic form of this ingredient had final FDA approval for US sale.
A compounded medicine is one that a pharmacy, doctor or registered facility mixes or prepares separately. That medicine has no FDA approval.
Ask which product is on offer before treating names or prices as interchangeable.