Must GLP-1 drugs be taken in painful injections or has a pill finally arrived that you can easily take by mouth? One is actually here.
Novo Nordisk has a pill version of Wegovy — officially called oral semaglutide 25 mg.
In a clinical trial it helped people lose an average of 16.6% of their body weight.
In fact, about one in three participants lost *20% or more of their weight.
For years, Wegovy injections have been the go-to GLP-1 treatment for weight loss, but this new oral option will have fantastic appeal to those who barely tolerate injections.
Novo Nordisk has already sent the new pill off for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which means it could become the first-ever oral GLP-1 drug officially approved for long-term weight management.
Production has already started at their facilities in the U.S., so if it gets the green light, it should be ready to go quickly – relative to the news release of this development (October 2025).
Inside the Landmark OASIS 4 Study
The new results come from a major phase 3 clinical trial called OASIS 4, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Over a term of 64 weeks, researchers followed 307 adults who were overweight or obese (but didn’t have diabetes) to see how well the once-daily pill worked compared to a placebo.
Everyone in the study also received general advice about diet and exercise.
At the end of the trial, people who stuck with the treatment lost that average of 16.6% of their body weight.
The placebo group dropped only 2.7%. This is remarkable and strongly suggests the pill form of a GLP-1 is quite effective for weight loss.
Also, when including participants who weren’t as consistent with the medication, the average weight loss was still 13.6%, which is on par with the injectable version of Wegovy.
34 vs. 2.9 Percent
About 34% of those taking semaglutide pills lost 20% or more of their body weight.
The placebo group shed only 2.9%.
On top of the weight loss, participants also showed improvements in physical function (like walking, bending and standing) and better cardiovascular risk markers, which is consistent with what’s been seen in studies of injectable Wegovy.
What about side effects?
In this trial, gastrointestinal issues were the most common side effects, mostly nausea and vomiting, usually mild to moderate in degree.
Only about 7% of participants stopped the drug because of side effects, which is similar to what’s seen with other semaglutide products.
Interestingly, serious side effects were actually less common among people taking the pill form (3.9%) compared with those on placebo (8.8%).
Novo Nordisk submitted the official application for the Wegovy pill to the FDA earlier in 2025, and the review is expected to wrap up by the end of 2025.
