Medication Comparison Centre 2.0
Compare the treatment — not the hype.
Mounjaro, injectable Wegovy, the new oral Wegovy formulation, liraglutide and Orlistat compared across efficacy evidence, convenience, NHS context, maturity, side-effect burden and maintenance implications.
Wegovy is no longer just the familiar 2.4 mg weekly injection story. UK product information now includes a 7.2 mg weekly injectable maintenance option for adults with obesity if needed, and a once-daily 25 mg tablet formulation. Comparisons that ignore those changes are already dated.
The current comparison at a glance
| Option | How taken | Relative efficacy | Evidence maturity | NHS context | Useful trial anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mounjaro tirzepatide | Weekly injection | Very high | Very strong | NICE-recommended; NHS access is phased / pathway-dependent | Up to ~20%+ mean loss in obesity trials; direct head-to-head 20.2% at 72 weeks vs 13.7% semaglutide 1.7/2.4 mg in SURMOUNT-5 |
| Wegovy injection semaglutide | Weekly injection | High | Very strong | NICE-recommended in specialist weight-management pathways; access depends on pathway | STEP 1: mean -14.9% at 68 weeks with 2.4 mg; 7.2 mg is now a licensed maintenance option for adults with obesity if needed |
| Wegovy tablets semaglutide | Daily tablet | High | Strong but newer formulation | Licensed; NICE/NHS positioning may lag the new formulation and should be checked live | OASIS 4: mean -13.6% at 64 weeks under treatment-policy analysis; -16.6% estimated while on treatment without additional obesity therapy |
| Liraglutide (Saxenda / licensed equivalents) liraglutide | Daily injection | Moderate | Mature | NICE option in specialist services for defined groups; pathway availability varies | Large adult trial: mean -8.0% at 56 weeks vs -2.6% placebo |
| Orlistat orlistat | Capsule with meals | Modest | Very mature | Long-established NHS option; prescribing criteria and local practice apply | Typically produces more modest average loss than GLP-1/GIP medicines; individual response varies |
Treatment Battle
Pick any two licensed options
What the evidence actually tells us
Mounjaro vs injectable Wegovy
SURMOUNT-5 provides a genuine head-to-head anchor: tirzepatide produced greater mean weight loss than semaglutide 1.7/2.4 mg at 72 weeks. That trial does not answer tirzepatide versus the newly licensed 7.2 mg Wegovy dose.
Oral Wegovy
OASIS 4 gives direct phase 3b evidence for oral semaglutide 25 mg: mean weight change was -13.6% at 64 weeks under the treatment-policy analysis.
Liraglutide
Saxenda has a mature obesity evidence base, but average loss is lower than the newer weekly incretin options and it requires daily injections.
Direct comparisons
Where Ozempic fits
Ozempic contains semaglutide, but it is not the UK weight-management brand/licence. Wegovy is the semaglutide product licensed for obesity/overweight weight management. We include Ozempic only because confusing the two is one of the most common medication questions.
What we deliberately do not do
- We do not convert trial averages into a promise for an individual.
- We do not treat a 10/10 rating as a clinical recommendation.
- We do not pretend NICE recommendation equals immediate NHS availability.
- We do not publish a fixed private price as though it will still be correct next month.
- We do not rank Ozempic as a licensed UK obesity-treatment alternative to Wegovy.
Core sources
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