Wegovy tablets (weight loss pill): effect, costs and medical supervision
Semaglutide is now also available to swallow: 25 mg, once a day, without an injection. What the Wegovy tablet can do, who it is an option for and what the medical treatment costs, explained factually by the Cureal medical team.
The Wegovy pill is available on prescription only. Whether it suits you is something you clarify in a medical consultation, conveniently by video from home or at one of our five practices. Appointments are usually available within a few days.
Initial consultation €89 · Follow-up €59 · Tablets from €172.73 per month, paid directly at the pharmacy (self-pay).
What is the Wegovy tablet?
The Wegovy tablet is the oral form of semaglutide, the same active substance as in the Wegovy injection. Semaglutide mimics GLP-1, a gut hormone the body produces itself: it strengthens the feeling of satiety, dampens appetite and food cravings and slows gastric emptying. What differs from the injection is not the principle but the form in which you take it.
So that a peptide such as semaglutide can be absorbed through the stomach, the tablet contains an excipient (SNAC) that makes this absorption possible. That is why the dose of 25 mg per day is considerably higher than with the weekly injection (up to 2.4 mg), and why the effect depends on taking it correctly: in the morning on an empty stomach, with a little water, then nothing to eat or drink for 30 minutes.
The tablet has been approved in the EU since 15 July 2026 for weight management in adults with obesity, or with overweight plus an accompanying condition, alongside a change of diet and exercise. In Germany it is available in pharmacies from 1 September 2026, on prescription only.
Rybelsus also contains oral semaglutide, but in 3, 7 or 14 mg, and it is approved only for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. For weight reduction, only the 25 mg tablet under the name Wegovy is approved.
How well does the weight loss pill work?
In the OASIS-4 approval study, adults with obesity lost a mean of 13.6 per cent of their body weight on 25 mg oral semaglutide over 64 weeks, compared with 2.2 per cent on placebo. Both groups received the same lifestyle advice.
- The feeling of satiety sets in sooner and portions become smaller by themselves.
- For many people, food cravings and constant thoughts about eating subside.
- The order of magnitude matches the Wegovy injection (STEP 1: 14.9 per cent after 68 weeks); a direct comparison of the two forms in one study is not yet available.
Study averages are not a forecast for the individual case. How much weight you lose depends on your starting weight, tolerability, how reliably you take it and everyday life. Some participants lost considerably less, and some discontinued the study because of side effects.
Tablet or injection: what sets the two apart?
The same active substance, the same order of magnitude of effect. The differences lie in everyday life: how often, how precisely and how discreetly you take the medication. Which form suits you is ultimately decided in the medical consultation.
Tablet or injection? The quick check
Four questions about your everyday life. The result is a tendency for the conversation with your doctor, not a recommendation and not a diagnosis. Nothing is stored or sent.
How do you feel about injections?
What does your morning look like?
How important is discretion to you?
Do you travel a lot or have irregular days?
The check runs in your browser only. No data is transmitted.
Which form is suitable for whom? Medically there is no reason to prefer one over the other in general. In practice what counts is what you can keep up reliably over months. If you already use the injection and would like to switch, discuss it with the doctor: switching is possible, and the dose is set again in the process.
Who is the Wegovy tablet an option for, and who is it not for?
The approval is narrowly defined: adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related accompanying condition. Anyone who wants to lose a few kilos for the summer is not the target group, and we say so in the consultation.
From a BMI of 30 kg/m² you are in the obesity range. Whether the tablet makes medical sense also depends on existing conditions and medicines.
At a BMI of 27 to 29.9 kg/m² it is an option if there is a weight-related condition, for example high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, a lipid metabolism disorder or sleep apnoea.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, if you are planning a pregnancy in the coming months, with type 1 diabetes, with medullary thyroid carcinoma in your own or your family history (MEN-2), after a previous inflammation of the pancreas, with eating disorders and under the age of 18.
Your BMI in 10 seconds
Enter your height and weight. You see straight away whether you are within the approved range for the Wegovy tablet.
BMI is a rough measure and does not replace an examination. The calculation runs in your browser only.
Slowly upwards, not 25 mg straight away
The maintenance dose is reached step by step, which keeps side effects manageable.
What does treatment with Wegovy tablets cost?
Two items: the medical treatment at Cureal and the medication from the pharmacy. You know both in advance: the treatment to the euro, the medication at the legally fixed pharmacy price.
Example calculation: the first 6 months
Treatment costs at Cureal, assuming one follow-up appointment per quarterThe medication Pharmacy price, fixed by law
Under the German Drug Price Ordinance (Arzneimittelpreisverordnung), a prescription medication costs the same in every pharmacy in Germany, including on a private prescription. One pack contains 30 tablets and lasts one month at one tablet a day.
- 1.5 mgMonth 1, starting dose
- €172.73
- 4 mgMonth 2
- €172.73
- 9 mgMonth 3
- €233.23
- 25 mgfrom month 4, maintenance dose
- Ask your pharmacy for the price
How to read the table
The dose is increased monthly, and each step corresponds to one pack. The first three months cost €578.69 in total for the medication, plus the initial consultation and follow-up appointments at Cureal.
From the fourth month you take 25 mg permanently. Ask your pharmacy for the price of this pack. It is also fixed by law and the same in every pharmacy.
Prices per pack including VAT, as of 22 September 2026, according to pharmacy software. The pharmacy bills the medication directly to you, Cureal adds nothing on top.
Does health insurance pay? No. The Federal Joint Committee classifies medicines for weight reduction as lifestyle medicines, and German statutory insurers do not reimburse them. That applies to the tablet just as it does to the injection. Private insurers assess this according to the policy, so ask in advance.
Transparent instead of a teaser price: We send the prescription to your preferred pharmacy, where the medication costs the legally fixed price, with no online surcharge and no tie to a single provider. Cureal earns nothing on the medication. Online-only providers attract attention with low starting prices, but often add a mark-up on the medication or on the fee.
How it works at Cureal
Real practices in five cities, video appointments across Germany. At the centre is the personal consultation with a doctor who is also allowed to turn you down if the tablet does not fit.
Booking an appointment
Choose the medical weight loss consultation, by video or at the practice on site. Free appointments are usually available within a few days.
Initial consultation with the doctor
BMI, accompanying conditions, medicines, your goal. You discuss whether GLP-1 is an option at all and whether the tablet or the injection fits your everyday life.
Private prescription, pharmacy, follow-up appointment
We issue the private prescription with the starting dose and the dose escalation plan and send it to the pharmacy of your choice. You collect the tablets there or have them delivered. You see the doctor again at the follow-up appointment, usually by video.
By video anywhere in Germany, in person at our practices
You have your initial consultation conveniently by video consultation or at one of our practices. Follow-up appointments then take place from home.
Munich
Video consultation
Also in Berlin, Hamburg, Mannheim and Potsdam: view all locations →
Which side effects does the Wegovy tablet have?
The tablet has the same side effects as the injection, because it is the same active substance. The gastrointestinal tract is most commonly affected, above all in the weeks while the dose is increased. In OASIS-4, more participants in the semaglutide group discontinued the study because of side effects than in the placebo group.
What you should know before the consultation
- The tablet only works if taken correctly on an empty stomach, wait 30 min.
- Oral contraception can become less reliable because gastric emptying is delayed clarify in the consultation
- Other medicines (for example thyroid hormones) are absorbed more slowly check the dose
- Before operations, inform the anaesthetic team about the treatment inform the anaesthetic team
- After stopping, weight often returns plan how you stop
Sources: Wegovy summary of product characteristics (EMA), OASIS-4 (NEJM 2025). This page replaces neither the package leaflet nor medical advice.
Frequently asked questions about the Wegovy tablet
What patients ask us about the weight loss pill, answered briefly and without a sales pitch.
Go to the medical weight loss overview
From 1 September 2026. The EU licence for the 25 mg tablet was granted on 15 July 2026, and the market launch in German pharmacies follows on 1 September. From then on the tablet is available on prescription; supply shortages are possible in the first few weeks.
No. Wegovy tablets are prescription only. Offers without a prescription from the internet are either illegal or counterfeit. The route runs through a medical consultation, at Cureal by video or at one of our practices. If the indication fits, we issue a private prescription and send it to your preferred pharmacy.
In the morning on an empty stomach, straight after getting up, swallowed whole with no more than half a glass of water. After that, nothing to eat, nothing to drink and no other medicines for at least 30 minutes. Anyone who does not keep to this rule absorbs considerably less of the active substance. That is precisely why the tablet suits people with a regular morning.
The order of magnitude is comparable: 13.6 per cent weight loss after 64 weeks in OASIS-4 (tablet) versus 14.9 per cent after 68 weeks in STEP 1 (injection). However, these are two different studies with different participants, not a direct comparison. What is certain: both forms work through the same mechanism, and the tablet only works if taken correctly.
Both contain oral semaglutide, but in different doses and with different approvals. Rybelsus is available in 3, 7 and 14 mg and is approved exclusively for type 2 diabetes. The Wegovy tablet contains 25 mg and is approved for weight management. Prescribing Rybelsus for weight loss would be off-label use, which Cureal does not offer.
One pack of 30 tablets lasts one month. Dose escalation costs EUR 172.73 (1.5 mg), EUR 172.73 (4 mg) and EUR 233.23 (9 mg), as of September 2026. Ask your pharmacy for the price of the 25 mg maintenance dose. Prices are fixed by law and the same in every pharmacy, Cureal adds nothing on top. On top of that come the treatment costs at Cureal: initial consultation EUR 89, each follow-up appointment EUR 59.
German statutory health insurers do not. In Germany, medicines for weight reduction count as lifestyle medicines and are excluded from reimbursement, regardless of whether they are a tablet or an injection. Private health insurers decide according to the policy, and it is worth asking before you start therapy.
Slowly, and that is intended. The dose is increased over several weeks, and the full effect only develops at 25 mg. The easing appetite is usually noticeable in the first few weeks, and weight falls over months. The 13.6 per cent from the study were measured after 64 weeks, not after 6.
In principle yes, because it is the same active substance. The switch is medically supervised, because the dose is set again and the tablet has different rules for taking it. Anyone who gets on well with the injection has no medical reason to switch; anyone tired of needles or refrigeration can discuss the switch at the follow-up appointment.
Do not make up the missed tablet and do not take a double dose. Continue as usual the next morning. Anyone who regularly forgets a dose should raise it at the follow-up appointment; the weekly injection may then be the more suitable form.
There is no formal ban, but alcohol increases nausea and stomach complaints and puts strain on the pancreas, which is already an organ at risk under semaglutide. Many patients report that they enjoy alcohol less during therapy anyway. Discuss your consumption honestly in the consultation.
Semaglutide delays gastric emptying and can thereby change the absorption of medicines taken orally, including that of the contraceptive pill. In addition, the Wegovy tablet must not be taken together with other tablets (the 30-minute rule). Raise your contraception in the initial consultation; in some cases an additional method is advised.
Appetite returns and, for many people, part of the weight comes back. That is not a personal failure but the biology of a chronic condition. This is why therapy is designed for the longer term, and stopping is planned with a doctor, usually step by step and with a plan for diet and exercise.
No, and that is the point of a real practice. The initial consultation checks whether the Wegovy tablet is medically sensible and safe for you. If you meet the criteria and nothing speaks against it, we issue the private prescription and send it to your preferred pharmacy. If not, we tell you so openly and discuss what might be an option instead.
More on losing weight with medical supervision
If the tablet does not suit you, the injection is an option, or a different active substance. All routes start with the same initial consultation.
Whether the Wegovy tablet is right for you is decided by the doctor.
How medical supervision works at Cureal is explained under Medical weight loss.
Medically reviewed by the Cureal medical team, as at 29 August 2026. Sources: Wegovy summary of product characteristics (EMA), OASIS-4 (NEJM 2025).