Can I get it?
Yes, if a doctor decides it is right for you. Semaglutide is authorised in the EU and can be prescribed after a medical review.
An EU-licensed doctor reviews your case and, if eligible, issues an electronic prescription valid at any EU pharmacy under Directive 2011/24/EU.

Full refund if a review is not approved · Medication, if prescribed, is dispensed and paid for separately at a pharmacy.
IN PLAIN TERMS
Semaglutide is a medicine given as an injection under the skin once a week. It copies a natural gut hormone called GLP-1 that your body makes after eating, so you feel full sooner and stay full longer, and most people end up eating less. In the EU the product authorised for weight management is Wegovy, used together with a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity. The same active ingredient is also sold as Ozempic, but that is a separate product authorised for type 2 diabetes, not for weight management.
Semaglutide has been authorised for use in the EU since 6 January 2022, so a licensed doctor can prescribe it when it is clinically appropriate for you.
Learn more about peptides at Peptidepedia.
Yes, if a doctor decides it is right for you. Semaglutide is authorised in the EU and can be prescribed after a medical review.
Our doctors review every Weight loss option and recommend what fits your history and goals.
See all Weight loss optionsEvery trial behind Semaglutide is listed below with its registry number, how many people took part, and whether the results are peer-reviewed or a company announcement.
Jump to the studiesVERIFIED EVIDENCE
WHAT IT IS
It copies GLP-1, a hormone the gut releases after a meal, which reduces appetite and slows how quickly the stomach empties.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE
Every NCT identifier links to its ClinicalTrials.gov record. A readout is not the same as peer-reviewed publication.
| TRIAL / NCT | POPULATION | PARTICIPANTS | STATUS | READOUT / COMPLETION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEP 1NCT03548935 | Adults with a BMI of 30 kg/m² or more, or 27 kg/m² or more with at least one weight-related condition, without type 2 diabetes; all received lifestyle counselling | 1,961 | Read out | 2021-03-18 |
Results are grouped by source and evidence grade so journal data and manufacturer announcements cannot be confused.
| DOSE OR GROUP | MEAN WEIGHT CHANGE | WEEKS |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4 mg once weekly | −14.9% | 68 |
| Placebo | −2.4% | 68 |
Everyone in the trial also followed a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, people with type 2 diabetes were excluded, and the study measured weight only up to week 68.
NAMED SAFETY SIGNALS
Reported by 38.3% of people on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus 14.0% on placebo across the pooled STEP 1–4 phase 3 programme assessed by the EMA.
Reported by 26.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus 14.3% on placebo in the same pooled programme.
Reported by 21.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus 5.7% on placebo in the same pooled programme.
Reported by 21.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus 10.2% on placebo in the same pooled programme.
Gallbladder-related events were reported by 2.5% on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus 1.6% on placebo, mainly gallstones (1.6% versus 1.1%).
Independently confirmed in 4 people (0.2%) on semaglutide 2.4 mg and 1 person (under 0.1%) on placebo in the pooled programme.
5.7% of people on semaglutide 2.4 mg stopped treatment because of side effects versus 3.0% on placebo, mostly because of stomach and bowel symptoms.
IN 60 SECONDS
About
Also sold as Ozempic, Wegovy.
Active ingredient: Semaglutide · Dosages: 0.25 – 2.4 mg / week
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist — a medication that mimics a natural hormone your gut releases after eating. It reduces appetite, slows gastric emptying and helps maintain sustained weight loss when combined with supervised nutrition and activity changes.
It's prescribed alongside changes to diet and activity, as part of a medically supervised plan — not on its own, and not as a shortcut. A licensed EU doctor decides whether it's appropriate and safe for you.
HOW IT WORKS
Semaglutide may reduce appetite and slow how quickly your stomach empties, so you tend to feel full sooner and eat less. Effects build gradually and vary from person to person.
Semaglutide is a close copy of GLP-1, a hormone your gut releases after you eat. It shares about 94% of the structure of the natural hormone, so it fits the same docking points on cells, but it is built to last much longer in the body.
Once attached to those docking points, semaglutide signals the parts of the brain that control hunger, including the hypothalamus and brainstem. In clinical studies people reported feeling full sooner, staying full for longer, feeling less hungry, and having fewer and weaker food cravings.
Because appetite falls, most people take in fewer calories without consciously trying, and that gap is what produces weight change over months. Semaglutide also slightly slows how fast the stomach empties early after a meal, and prompts insulin release only when blood sugar is high.
How it helps
Acts on hunger signals, so many people feel satisfied with less food.
Food stays in your stomach longer, so you tend to feel full for longer.
Prescribed alongside support for diet and activity — never as a standalone fix.
What to expect
The dose is increased slowly over 16 weeks to help your body adjust and to ease side effects. Your doctor sets your exact schedule.
Typical escalation
DAY TO DAY
Semaglutide for weight management is injected under the skin once a week, at any time of day, with or without food. Most people pick a fixed day and set a reminder, because the weekly rhythm is easy to lose track of.
The approved sites are the abdomen, the thigh and the upper arm. The site can be changed from week to week. Rotating between sites is standard practice for injections under the skin and helps avoid repeated irritation in one spot.
Attach a new needle for each injection and remove it afterwards, storing the pen without a needle attached. The product information says this helps prevent blocked needles, contamination, infection, leaking solution and inaccurate dosing. Compatible needles are 30G, 31G or 32G.
Look at the solution first. It should be clear and colourless. The product information says not to use the pen if the liquid looks otherwise, or if it has been frozen at any point. Pens must never be shared between people.
Each pen type has its own instructions for use inside the carton, and the product information asks patients to read them carefully before the first injection. With a single-dose pen you press it firmly against the skin until the yellow bar stops moving.
Take a missed dose as soon as possible, as long as fewer than five days have passed. If more than five days have gone by, skip it and take the next dose on the normal day. Ask the prescriber before restarting after several missed doses.
The day of the week can be changed if needed, provided at least three days, meaning more than 72 hours, separate one dose from the next. After moving to a new day, carry on with the once-weekly pattern from there.
Before first use, keep the pen in the fridge between 2°C and 8°C, away from the cooling element, and never freeze it. Keep the cap on to protect it from light. After first use a FlexTouch pen keeps for six weeks below 30°C.
Safety first
Semaglutide is an effective medicine — and like any medicine it carries risks. Your doctor screens for all of this before prescribing. Here's the honest picture, not just reassurance.
Stop and get urgent medical help if
seek medical help immediately
these need urgent attention, whatever the frequency
Very common
very common (≥1/10)
more than 1 in 10 people
Common
common (≥1/100 to <1/10)
between 1 in 100 and 1 in 10 people
Uncommon
uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100)
between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 100 people
Rare
rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000)
between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 1,000 people
Very rare
very rare (<1/10,000)
fewer than 1 in 10,000 people
Reported, frequency not known
frequency not known
reported after the medicine was licensed; how often is not established
Adults with obesity (BMI ≥30) or with overweight (BMI ≥27) plus at least one weight-related condition such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidaemia.
WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE IT, AND WHO NEEDS EXTRA CARE
| MEDICINE OR SUBSTANCE | WHAT CAN HAPPEN | WHAT THE DOCTOR DOES |
|---|---|---|
| Warfarin and other coumarin blood thinners | Cases of a reduced INR clotting measure have been reported alongside semaglutide. | Prescriber arranges more frequent INR blood tests when semaglutide is started. |
| Insulin | Combined with semaglutide in type 2 diabetes, the risk of low blood sugar rises. | Prescriber may lower the insulin dose at the start and monitor blood sugar. |
| Sulfonylureas (e.g. gliclazide) | Also raise the risk of low blood sugar when taken alongside semaglutide. | Prescriber may reduce the sulfonylurea dose when semaglutide is introduced. |
| Oral medicines needing fast absorption | Semaglutide slows stomach emptying, which could in principle affect how they are absorbed. | Prescriber uses caution and reviews whether timing or monitoring needs changing. |
| Combined oral contraceptives | No clinically relevant change; levonorgestrel exposure rose 20%, ethinylestradiol was unaffected. | No dose change needed. Contraception is advised while taking semaglutide. |
| Paracetamol | Peak levels fell 23% with semaglutide 1 mg, but total exposure was unchanged. | No dose adjustment of paracetamol is required. |
| Atorvastatin | Peak level fell 38% but overall exposure was unchanged, judged not clinically relevant. | No dose adjustment is required. |
| Digoxin and metformin | Semaglutide did not change overall exposure or peak levels of either medicine. | No dose adjustment is required. |
EVIDENCE
The weight-management evidence for semaglutide comes from the STEP trial programme, and its cardiovascular evidence comes from the SELECT trial.
1,961 adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes · 68 weeks
STEP 1. The placebo group changed -2.4%.
Source: STEP 1: Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity1,961 adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes · 68 weeks
STEP 1. The placebo group lost 2.6 kg. Estimated treatment difference -12.7 kg (95% CI -13.7 to -11.7).
Source: STEP 1: Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity1,961 adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes · 68 weeks
STEP 1, versus 12.0% on placebo. Half the semaglutide group (50.5%) lost 15% or more.
Source: STEP 1: Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or ObesityAdults who completed a 20-week run-in up to the 2.4 mg dose · 48 weeks, from week 20 to week 68
STEP 4. Those switched to placebo regained weight. Difference -14.8 percentage points.
Source: STEP 4: Effect of Continued Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Placebo on Weight Loss Maintenance17,604 adults aged 45+ with existing cardiovascular disease and BMI 27+, no diabetes
SELECT. Events occurred in 6.5% on semaglutide versus 8.0% on placebo.
Source: SELECT: Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without DiabetesThese figures are averages across large groups, not a forecast for any one person. In STEP 1 the middle of the group lost close to 15% of their starting weight over 68 weeks, but individual results ranged from substantial loss to almost none, and everyone in the trial was also following a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. STEP 4 is the important counterpoint: weight came back when treatment stopped, so this is a long-term treatment rather than a short course, and whether it is right for you is a decision for the prescribing doctor.
ALTERNATIVES
| MEDICINE | HOW IT IS TAKEN | HOW OFTEN | TYPICAL DOSE RANGE | EU-AUTHORISED INDICATION | KEY EVIDENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semaglutide | Weekly injection | Once weekly | 0.25-2.4 mg | Weight management alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity, in adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 to under 30 with a weight-related condition. | STEP 1: mean -14.9% body weight at 68 weeks |
| Tirzepatide | Weekly injection | Once weekly | 2.5-15 mg | Weight management alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity, in adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above with a weight-related condition. Also authorised for type 2 diabetes. | EMA: about 15% mean weight reduction over 72 weeks |
| Liraglutide | Daily injection | Once daily | 0.6-3.0 mg | Weight management alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity, in adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 to under 30 with a weight-related condition. | EMA: 7.5% mean weight reduction versus 2.3% on placebo |
| Orlistat | Oral capsule | Up to three times daily with meals | 120 mg per meal | Treatment of obesity alongside a mildly reduced-calorie diet, in patients with a BMI of 30 or above, or above 28 with associated risk factors. | EMA: mean 6.1 kg lost over one year versus 2.6 kg |
Not sure which one fits your case? The doctor reviews your history and tells you.
Start consultation · €25/monthACCESS AND COST
Semaglutide is a prescription-only medicine everywhere in the EU, so it cannot be bought over the counter in any of these countries. Whether the national health system pays for it when it is prescribed for weight management is decided country by country, and in most of these markets it is not covered, meaning the patient pays.
What you pay Hi-Doctor
€25/month (billed €25 every 28 days)
Answer a few questions and a licensed EU doctor reviews your case in less than 2 hours on average. Refunded in full if it's not right for you.
What the pharmacy charges
Hi-Doctor does not sell, stock or dispense medicines and does not set their price. The medicine is paid for separately at the pharmacy, and the amount depends on the country, the pack size, whether a generic is available and whether your health system covers it. The official national database linked in the table publishes the current authorised price.
| COUNTRY | HOW IT IS SUPPLIED | COVERED BY THE HEALTH SYSTEM? | OFFICIAL SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | AEMPS CIMA |
| Germany | Prescription-only | Excluded by law from statutory cover | PharmNet.Bund AMIce |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | Prescription-only | Restricted — see national criteria | Base de données publique des médicaments |
| Italy | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | AIFA Medicinali |
| Netherlands | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | CBG-MEB Geneesmiddeleninformatiebank |
| Portugal | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | INFARMED Infomed |
| Belgium | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | FAGG-AFMPS medicines database |
| Ireland | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | HPRA Find a Medicine |
| Austria | Prescription-only | Restricted — see national criteria | BASG Medikamente Info Austria |
| Poland | Prescription-only | Not reimbursed for weight management | Rejestr Produktów Leczniczych |
PRICING
€25/month for weight loss or €15/month (billed €45 every 90 days) for hair growth. €35 one-off is available for sexual health.
ONGOING PLAN
€25/month
Billed €25 every 28 days · cancel anytime
28-day treatment cycle
For ongoing treatment and doctor-reviewed renewals.
Renewals reviewed by your doctor
Full refund if a review is not approved
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Full refund if a review is not approved
If a review is not approved, we refund that period's €25 fee and cancel the plan.
Note: The medication, if the doctor prescribes it, is paid separately at the pharmacy at the price it sets. Hi-Doctor does not sell medications.
HOW THE DOCTOR DECIDES
An EU-licensed doctor reads your questionnaire and answers in less than 2 hours on average.
If the doctor decides it is not safe to prescribe, the consultation fee is refunded in full.
Follow-up happens in the private chat inside your account, under GDPR. No WhatsApp, no SMS.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
OTHER WEIGHT LOSS TREATMENTS
SOURCES
Wegovy 2.4 mg FlexTouch solution for injection in pre-filled pen: Summary of Product Characteristics — electronic medicines compendium (emc), 2026
Wegovy: Annex I Summary of Product Characteristics (EU product information) — European Medicines Agency, 2026
Wegovy (semaglutide): European Public Assessment Report overview — European Medicines Agency, 2026
Ozempic (semaglutide) solution for injection: Summary of Product Characteristics, type 2 diabetes indication — electronic medicines compendium (emc), 2026
STEP 1: Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity — New England Journal of Medicine (Wilding JPH et al., 384:989-1002), 2021
STEP 4: Effect of Continued Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Placebo on Weight Loss Maintenance — JAMA (Rubino D et al., 325:1414-1425), 2021
SELECT: Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes — New England Journal of Medicine (Lincoff AM et al., 389:2221-2232), 2023
Semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus): NHS medicines A to Z — National Health Service (UK), 2026
Wegovy FlexTouch: authorisation and supply classification record — AEMPS CIMA (Spain), 2026
Ficha técnica Wegovy 2,4 mg FlexTouch: EU Summary of Product Characteristics, section 4.8 adverse reaction table — AEMPS CIMA (Spain), 2026
Situación de financiación de medicamentos: Wegovy 2,4 mg, national code 758089 — Ministerio de Sanidad (Spain), 2023
G-BA implements the statutory prescribing exclusion for the weight-loss medicine Wegovy — Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (Germany), 2024
Obésité: de nouveaux médicaments peuvent être pris en charge dans des conditions encadrées — Assurance Maladie / ameli.fr (France), 2026
Wegovy niet vergoeden uit het basispakket: GVS advice on semaglutide for obesity — Zorginstituut Nederland, 2024
Medicines to treat obesity: reimbursement status of semaglutide in Ireland — Health Service Executive (Ireland), 2026
Obwieszczenie Ministra Zdrowia: wykaz refundowanych leków (pharmacy reimbursement list) — Ministerstwo Zdrowia (Poland), 2026
Rejestr Produktów Leczniczych: Wegovy (semaglutidum) registration record, ATC A10BJ06 — Rejestry Medyczne / e-Zdrowie (Poland), 2026
Behandlungspfad Übergewicht & Adipositas: case-by-case consideration of weight-reduction medicines — Dachverband der österreichischen Sozialversicherung (Austria), 2026
Warning on falsified GLP-1 receptor agonists: prescription status and pharmacy-only supply in Austria — Bundesamt für Sicherheit im Gesundheitswesen (BASG, Austria), 2026
Nieuwigheden geneesmiddelen: Wegovy commercialised in Belgium, not reimbursed for obesity — Belgisch Centrum voor Farmacotherapeutische Informatie (BCFI/CBIP), 2025
Wegovy FlexTouch: INFARMED market authorisation notice and semaglutide safety communication — INFARMED, I.P. (Portugal), 2026
Nuovi farmaci per il diabete e l'obesità: AIFA guide to responsible use, Wegovy class C classification — Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA), 2026
Mounjaro (tirzepatide): European Public Assessment Report overview — European Medicines Agency, 2026
Saxenda (liraglutide): European Public Assessment Report overview — European Medicines Agency, 2026
Saxenda 6 mg/mL solution for injection: Summary of Product Characteristics — electronic medicines compendium (emc), 2026
Xenical (orlistat): European Public Assessment Report overview — European Medicines Agency, 2026
Reviewed by Hi-Doctor's medical team · Last reviewed 2026-07-27 · Next review due 2027-07-27
This page is educational information about a medicine, not a recommendation to take it and not a substitute for a medical consultation. Only a licensed doctor who has reviewed your history can decide whether a treatment is appropriate for you.
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