UK approves first weight loss pill as GLP-1 tablet gets green light from MHRA

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today, 11 June 2026, approved the first GLP-1 receptor agonist tablet for weight loss and weight management in the country. The drug is semaglutide, sold under the brand name Wegovy, and this time it comes in pill form.

Semaglutide injections have been around for a while and have become well-known for their effectiveness in helping people with obesity lose weight.

Who can get it?

The tablet has been approved for adults living with obesity, meaning a Body Mass Index of 30 or above. It can also be prescribed to people who are overweight, with a BMI between 27 and 30, as long as they have at least one weight-related health condition, something like type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.

How the dosing works

You start low and build up. The beginning dose is 1.5 mg once daily, and from there it steps up through 4 mg and 9 mg before reaching the maximum of 25 mg. Each dose level requires a minimum of one month before moving up.

What about people already on the injection?

Here's where it gets particularly practical. If you're currently using the 2.4 mg semaglutide injection once a week and you're doing so privately, you don't have to start from scratch. The MHRA has confirmed that patients in that situation can transition directly to the 25 mg daily tablet.

"It is important to follow the instructions in the Patient Information Leaflet on how to take semaglutide tablets for weight loss and weight management treatment to be most effective. The semaglutide tablet should be taken whole on an empty stomach after fasting for at least 8 hours with a sip of water. After taking it, no food or drink should be taken for at least thirty minutes. Eating or drinking less than 30 minutes after taking a semaglutide tablet lowers its absorption," the MHRA says.

The MHRA's approval marks the first time a GLP-1 tablet of this kind has been cleared for use in the UK, and it signals a broader shift in how weight management treatment might look in the years ahead. “Having met the MHRA’s rigorous standards of safety, quality and effectiveness, the semaglutide tablet has been approved in the UK for weight loss and weight management," Julian Beach, Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access at the MHRA, has said.