Both Wegovy and Ozempic contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide, a GLP-1 analogue and are made by the exact same company, Novo Nordisk, so what’s the difference? The differences lay with the dose, medicine concentration and the clinical evidence for registration in the UK.
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The Key Differences Between Wegovy vs Ozempic
The Dose
The first major difference to understand is the dose. Medicines can have vastly different effects based on their dose and Wegovy and Ozempic are perfect examples of this.
Wegovy is steadily increased over the course of 5 months with 5 different coloured pens which help to decrease its side effects as your body adjusts. It comes in 0.25mg, 0.5mg, 1mg, 1.7mg and 2.4 mg (the maintenance dose). This makes it really easy to use, following the clinically proven weight loss dose schedule.
Ozempic only comes in 0.25mg, 0.5mg and 1mg pens. This makes following the clinically proven weight loss dose schedule for semaglutide exceedingly difficult to manage. At the maintenance dose, you would need to inject 2.4 1mg doses per week which is not an ideal or efficient dose.
The Concentration
Wegovy pens have a slightly higher dose of semaglutide per mL in the pen. This may sound insignificant at first however these changes are made with very good reason. Injecting a smaller mL amount can change how the medicine is absorbed and hurt less as less medicine needs to be pushed into the injection area.
Registration in the UK
While it may sound like a formality, registering prescription drugs for a particular condition such as weight loss is important. This is because when applying for a medicine to be registered for a certain condition, medicine companies must prove that the medicine is safe and effective for what they are claiming it does. In Wegovy’s case, Novo Nordisk was able to prove with evidence from their clinical trials, that it is effective for weight loss leading to long term successful results for many patients.
Ozempic has been proven to be effective to the regulator in clinical trials to treat adults with type 2 diabetes but NOT weight loss. This doesn’t mean Ozempic will not work for weight loss, just that it is not proven to the regulator. Wegovy with its easy to follow dose schedule is a proven weight loss injection with the same active ingredient so there is no point in reregistering Ozempic for weight loss for the parent company.
About Wegovy
Weogvy is a newly registered injection pen registered for weight loss and chronic weight management. It became food and drug administration (FDA) approved in late 2021 and quickly became registered in the UK a few months later in early 2023. Wegovy is registered for weight loss in people with a body mass index (BMI) over 30kg/m² or 27kg/m² in those with a weight-related health problem.
It works by acting like a natural hormone in the body that regulates your appetite. It tricks the brain into feeling fuller for longer with smaller meals, causing you to eat less.
Paired with diet and exercise 83.5% of patients are expected to lose at least 5% of their body weight according to clinical trials. A 5% bodyweight reduction has been proven to reduce the risk of weight-related health conditions such as sleep apnea, heart attacks, diabetes and joint pain.
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Weogvy Effectiveness For Weight Loss
About Ozempic
Ozempic is a medicine registered to treat adults with type 2 diabetes. Although some doctors may prescribe Ozempic for weight loss it is only registered with the UK regulatory body to treat type 2 diabetes. Prescribing Ozempic for losing weight is called off-label prescribing.
It works for diabetics by helping the pancreas to release insulin when you need it. It also assists by slowing the digestive process and the liver’s release of sugar to prevent blood sugar spikes in diabetics. In regards to its off label use for weight loss, it works the same way as Wegovy if dosed at the same amount.
Summary
Wegovy is a proven and easier to use medicine compared to Ozempic for weight loss. Although they contain the same active ingredient, the dosing, concentration and evidence for Wegovy are superior for weight loss vs Ozempic.
