Australia's medicines regulator has approved a daily tablet form of Wegovy, giving patients in the country a pill-based alternative to the weekly injections that have so far been the only way to access GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The Therapeutic Goods Administration signed off on the Novo Nordisk product on Tuesday, according to ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The clearance covers people living with obesity as well as those who need to lower their cardiovascular risk, and patients will still require a doctor's prescription. The approval follows similar decisions in the United States and Europe, where demand climbed sharply once the pill reached the market.
Why it matters
Until now, Australians holding a prescription could only take GLP-1 medicines by injection once a week. A tablet removes that step and may suit people who are unwilling or unable to inject themselves, a group clinicians have long identified as a barrier to treatment.
The decision also opens a new front in Australia's weight loss market. Novo Nordisk has previously named the country as a priority market for the pill. In the US, three million prescriptions for the drug were written in the first five months it was available this year, ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
Four strengths approved, price still unset
A TGA spokesperson told ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the regulator has approved the tablet in four strengths: 1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg and 25 mg.
The dosing reflects how the body handles semaglutide when it is swallowed rather than injected. A single 25 mg tablet delivers the same effect as a 2.4 mg injection, because the digestive system absorbs the active ingredient less efficiently than it absorbs a shot delivered under the skin.
No Australian price guide has been published. In the US, the tablet generally costs less than the injection despite each dose containing more semaglutide.
Cost remains a live question for patients here. Under existing rules, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidises weight loss drugs only for people with type 2 diabetes, meaning most people prescribed the pill for obesity would pay the full price themselves.
The regulator's work is not finished. The TGA has yet to review the packaging and production processes to confirm they meet standards before the product is released, according to ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
A crowded pipeline
Novo Nordisk is not alone in pursuing tablet treatments. Rival Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro, has its own oral weight loss drug, Orforglipro, awaiting a decision from the TGA.
The timing of the Australian rollout will depend on the remaining regulatory checks and on Novo Nordisk's supply arrangements, with reports pointing to the pill reaching shelves before Christmas.