Wegovy (semaglutide) 25-milligram tablets have surpassed 3 million prescriptions in just over five months after launching Jan. 5.
The milestone equates to roughly one prescription filled every five seconds and makes Wegovy one of the strongest U.S. pharmaceutical launches by volume on record, according to a June 7 Novo Nordisk news release. The product reached 1 million prescriptions in 12 weeks, from the week of Jan. 5 to the week of March 23, and added another 2 million prescriptions in 10 weeks, from the week of March 23 to the week of June 1.
The trajectory was visible from the start. Healthcare investment bank Leerink Partners’ analysis called the Wegovy pill “the fastest drug launch ever” after its third week on the market recorded about 26,100 total prescriptions, a 42% increase from the second week. By comparison, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound pen syringe recorded about 1,300 total prescriptions in the first week of its commercial launch.
Since the FDA approved Wegovy tablets in December 2025 as the first oral GLP-1 for weight loss, the strategy questions the oral formulation poses for health systems have centered on distribution, formulary positioning and whether specialty pharmacy infrastructure built around injectables translates to an oral market. The new prescription data adds a concrete dimension to those questions: With more than 80% of Wegovy pill scripts filled by people new to GLP-1 therapy according to Novo, health systems are looking at a volume expansion, and the capacity and access planning implications are different.
Novo Nordisk is also pressing its competitive advantage against Eli Lilly’s Foundayo, the second oral GLP-1 to reach the U.S. market after its April 1 FDA approval. The company has published data showing the Wegovy pill outperforms Foundayo on weight loss in indirect comparisons, as both companies compete for the same pool of patients new to GLP-1 treatment.
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