Semaglutide, Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus: Three Brands Explained

According to its prescribing information, Ozempic injection is approved for adults with type 2 diabetes, to improve blood sugar control alongside diet and exercise; to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in those who also have established cardiovascular disease; and to reduce the risk of kidney decline, kidney failure and cardiovascular death in those who also have chronic kidney disease.

Ozempic is not approved for weight management. Its weight effect is real and widely known, and that is how it became the brand name people use for the whole category, but a prescription for weight loss alone is off-label.

Wegovy's prescribing information covers two forms. Wegovy injection is approved, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more activity, to reduce excess body weight and keep it off long term in adults with obesity, in adults with overweight and at least one weight-related condition, and in children 12 and over with obesity; to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight; and, under accelerated approval, to treat a form of fatty liver disease with scarring (noncirrhotic MASH) in adults.

Wegovy tablets, the Wegovy pill, are approved for weight reduction and long-term maintenance in adults with obesity, or with overweight and a weight-related condition, and for cardiovascular risk reduction in the same group as the injection. The label also says Wegovy should not be combined with any other semaglutide product or GLP-1 medicine.

Rybelsus is semaglutide as a daily tablet. Its prescribing information approves it for adults with type 2 diabetes, to improve blood sugar control and to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in those at high risk. The current label also covers tablets sold under the Ozempic name, for the same uses.

Rybelsus is not approved for weight. The Wegovy pill is the oral semaglutide approved for weight. Our oral vs injectable semaglutide page covers the choice between a tablet and an injection.

Compounded semaglutide is prepared by a licensed pharmacy for an individual patient on an individual prescription. It is a separate preparation: it is not Ozempic, Wegovy or Rybelsus, it is not a generic of any of them, and it is not equivalent to or interchangeable with them. The FDA states plainly that compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, and that the agency does not review them for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed.

The FDA has also been specific about how compounded GLP-1s may be described. Its February 6 2026 statement says companies may not claim that a compounded product is a generic version of, or the same as, an FDA-approved drug, that it uses the same active ingredient, or that it is clinically proven to produce results. We follow that, and you should be wary of any provider that does not.

Two consequences follow. First, the trials behind each brand were run on the branded product, so their results belong to that product and say nothing directly about any compounded preparation. Second, the FDA has warned that some compounders have used salt forms of semaglutide, such as semaglutide sodium, which it describes as different active ingredients from the approved drugs. Ask what you are getting. Compounded semaglutide vs Wegovy explains the supply chain and the questions to ask any provider.

A generic needs two things: the patents to have run out, and an approved generic application. In India, Novo Nordisk's core semaglutide patent expired in March 2026, and several Indian manufacturers launched their own semaglutide products immediately, with dozens more following in the months after.

In the US, the patents Novo Nordisk lists with the FDA for Ozempic include one on semaglutide itself that runs to December 2031, and others that run later. Until those expire or are overturned, no generic semaglutide is sold here. Anything marketed in the US as "generic semaglutide" is either compounded or not legitimate. Semaglutide imported from India is not approved for sale in the US.

Branded semaglutide is now sold directly for cash, and the prices have changed the comparison. As of October 14, 2026, the manufacturer and TrumpRx list these starting prices. They are Novo Nordisk's and TrumpRx's prices, not ACT 2's, and they vary by strength:

• Wegovy pill: starting at $149 a month.
• Wegovy pen: starting at $199 a month for a new patient's first two fills, then starting at $349 a month.
• Ozempic: starting at $199 a month on TrumpRx, though for weight alone it is off-label.

Our compounded semaglutide injection is $299 a month, including the clinician visits and delivery. We would rather say this plainly than have you find it elsewhere: the Wegovy pill's starting cash price is below our compounded price, and so is the pen's introductory price. After the introductory fills, the Wegovy pen's starting price is above it.

If a branded product is the better fit or the better value for you, we can prescribe it through the Weight Loss Program Membership, at $75 a month. The membership covers the clinical care; the medication is paid separately, to the manufacturer or pharmacy. Even with the membership added, the Wegovy pill's starting price comes in under our compounded injection. What semaglutide costs has the full breakdown.

Medicare. Since July 1 2026, the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge has covered certain branded GLP-1 medicines, including Wegovy injection and tablets, for eligible people with Part D coverage, at a copay of $50 a month. It covers branded products only; compounded semaglutide is not included.