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The basics:

• Oral Wegovy exceeds 3 million US prescriptions in 5 months
• Novo Nordisk says more than 80% of users are new to GLP-1 therapy
• Weight-loss pill available through 70,000+ pharmacies
• Oral Wegovy now faces competition from newly approved Eli Lilly pill

Since introducing its once-daily pill version of Wegovy in January, Novo Nordisk says the GLP-1 weight loss drug has topped 3 million prescriptions in just five months.

In a June 7 press release, the Danish drugmaker said that pace translates to roughly one prescription filled every five seconds for the blockbuster therapy.

That makes it one of the strongest U.S. pharmaceutical launches by volume on record, Novo Nordisk added.

A semaglutide-based drug, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved Wegovy in June 2021 specifically for chronic weight management in individuals who are obese or overweight with at least one weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol.

Administered through injector pens in once-weekly dosing, Novo Nordisk says patients should pair the drug with diet and exercise changes to lose weight and keep it off.

In December 2025, the FDA authorized Wegovy as the first-ever oral GLP-1 for weight loss. The approval also cleared the pill to help reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with obesity and established cardiovascular disease.

Two weeks later, Novo Nordisk rolled out the drug to U.S. markets.

Novo Nordisk has its U.S. headquarters in Plainsboro. The company said demand for the pills grew very quickly after hitting pharmacies and telehealth providers across the country. It took 12 weeks to reach 1 million prescriptions. Then, it took only 10 more weeks to add another 2 million prescriptions, the company said.

Seeing gains

Because more than 80% of new prescriptions are for individuals new to GLP-1 therapy, Novo Nordisk believes the oral version of the drug “is expanding the obesity treatment market.” There’s also been “strong uptake” of a newly released higher-dose formulation of the Wegovy injection, the drugmaker noted.

Novo Nordisk Executive Vice President of U.S. Operations Jamey Miller believes the trends shows that “patients and their healthcare providers are making choices that fit their needs, resulting in the clear adoption for both treatments.”

According to Novo Nordisk, the treatment is now available through more than 70,000 pharmacies, such as CVS and Costco, and from select platforms, like Weight Watchers, GoodRx and Ro.

For self-pay patients, the pill typically costs about $149 per month for lower doses and up to roughly $299 per month for higher doses. However, insurance can reduce out-of-pocket costs to as little as $25 per month depending on coverage.

After getting the OK from the Emirates Drug Establishment in the United Arab Emirates, Novo Nordisk just marked its first international launch of oral Wegovy. The company expects to roll the drug out to other markets pending regulatory approvals.

[P]atients and their healthcare providers are making choices that fit their needs, resulting in the clear adoption for both treatments.
– Jamey Miller, EVP, U.S. Operations, Novo Nordisk

Although the Wegovy tablet is gaining strong traction, it now faces competition from Eli Lilly’s newly approved oral version.

Compared with injectables, oral medications are cheaper to manufacture and generally easier for patients to administer. As a result, pharmaceutical companies are racing to bring weight loss pills to the GLP-1 space, which is expected to be worth $100 billion by the 2030s, CNBC noted.