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Key takeaways
An FDA-approved generic for Wegovy will not be available for several years.
Compounded semaglutide is not a generic version of Wegovy, and it may carry additional safety risks.
If you’re struggling with Wegovy costs, ask a healthcare professional about financial assistance options, insurance coverage options, or other GLP-1s.
Many people wonder when generic Wegovy (semaglutide) will become available, as this brand-name prescription weight loss medication is quite expensive without insurance or a prescription discount card. When combined with diet and physical activity changes, brand-name Wegovy is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the following purposes:
- Weight loss in patients 12 years or older with obesity
- Body weight reduction in adults who are overweight and have at least one weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or Type 2 diabetes
- Cardiovascular risk reduction in adults with heart disease and either obesity or overweight
- Treatment of noncirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in adults with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis
Wegovy is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 receptor agonist). Since the FDA recently approved generic versions of two other GLP-1s, Saxenda and Victoza, it’s natural to wonder whether Wegovy might be next. Here’s what you need to know about the current state of the availability, cost, and more of Wegovy generics.
Is there a generic for Wegovy?
There are currently no generic versions of GLP-1s with the active ingredient semaglutide. These prescription drugs include Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus. Exenatide and liraglutide are the only generic GLP-1s currently available. Two brand-name drugs contain liraglutide: a liraglutide known as generic Saxenda, and another liraglutide known as generic Victoza.
What’s the difference between Wegovy and compounded semaglutide?
At first glance, compounded semaglutide might appear to be a generic version of Wegovy. However, compounded semaglutide has not undergone the same rigorous FDA approval process that Wegovy has or that its generic counterpart will. “Compounded semaglutide comes with safety and quality risks: variable potency, contamination, unapproved salt forms, et cetera,” says Supriya Rao, MD, gastroenterologist, managing partner at Integrated Gastroenterology Consultants.
There are three key differences between Wegovy and compounded semaglutide:
- Approval: Wegovy is FDA approved, but compounded semaglutide is not.
- Dosage: Wegovy comes in pre-filled pens with automatic dosing. By contrast, compounded semaglutide comes in vials that usually require patients to accurately measure and fill syringes with the correct dose.
- Safety: In September 2025, the FDA issued a statement that compounded semaglutide is risky because these products do not undergo the FDA’s review for safety, effectiveness, and quality before being offered to patients. Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Zepbound and Mounjaro (tirzepatide), also warns about the risks of what it calls “counterfeit” mass-produced compounded medications.
What to know about compounded semaglutide
Compounding pharmacies create customized medications from scratch to meet patients’ specific health needs. For instance, when someone is allergic to the preservative in a critical medication, a compounding pharmacist can make a version of the medication with a different preservative.
Compounded semaglutide, then, contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy, but inactive ingredients and dosage might be different. Because the formulation isn’t the same one used in clinical trials, compounded semaglutide injections can’t be approved by the FDA. This doesn’t mean all compounded drugs are unsafe, but it does mean their safety, effectiveness, and side effect rates cannot be guaranteed. Some experts suggest that mass-produced compounded drugs pose additional risk because the process skips over personal communication between the patient and pharmacist.
Bottom line: Wegovy and compounded semaglutide both contain the same GLP-1. However, Wegovy is FDA approved and manufactured in a controlled, standardized formula, while compounded semaglutide formulas vary and are not FDA approved.
Wegovy vs. compounded semaglutide availability
Soon after Ozempic and Wegovy were released, GLP-1s became so popular that pharmacies could not keep them on the shelves. Because of these drug shortages, compounded semaglutide was temporarily allowed to be compounded. In February 2025, the FDA announced that the semaglutide shortage had been resolved. Pharmacies were required to stop distributing compounded semaglutide by April 22, and outsourcing facilities were required to stop distribution by May 22 that same year.
Compounded semaglutide may still be available, but it is no longer legally allowed to be a “copy” of Wegovy. Some manufacturers are working around this rule by making compounded semaglutide in a different dosage than Wegovy or with an additional ingredient such as vitamin B-12 or B-6. The important thing to remember is that the safety and effectiveness of these compounded semaglutide products cannot be verified.
“It is important to get it from a reputable source,” says Mir Ali, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, bariatric surgeon, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. “If it is dispensed through a clinic or health care provider, it is more likely to be safe and effective.”
As for brand-name Wegovy, the shortage has been resolved, so this brand-name weight loss medication (made by Novo Nordisk) should now be available at a pharmacy near you.
Wegovy vs. compounded semaglutide comparison chart |
||
|---|---|---|
| Difference | Wegovy | Compounded semaglutide |
| FDA approval | Weight loss in people 12 years and older with obesity or in adults who are overweight with a weight-related health condition
Reducing the risk of heart attack or other cardiovascular events in adults who have obesity or who are overweight with cardiovascular disease (heart disease) Treating MASH in adults with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis |
Not FDA approved |
| Dosage | 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, or 2.4 mg prefilled pen | Dosage is usually prescribed as 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, or 2.4 mg, but
vials contain multiple doses, requiring patients to manually draw up each dose with a syringe |
| Safety | Safe to take as indicated when prescribed by a healthcare provider | The FDA and the drug’s manufacturer have issued safety warnings about compounded semaglutide and the risks of knockoff products. |
When will a generic Wegovy be available?
Generic Wegovy will not be available for several years. Novo Nordisk’s last patent for Wegovy is set to expire in 2041, but healthcare providers can’t predict exactly when the generic version will be released after that, according to Dr. Ali.
Generic versions of medications become available only after the brand-name drug’s patent and exclusivity rights have expired. “The holdup is not safety or demand, but rather intellectual property and regulatory timelines that make sure the company recoups its investment before competitors can make lower cost versions,” Dr. Rao explains.
How to save on Wegovy
Wegovy does not have a more affordable generic version, but there are still ways to save on brand-name drugs. Some people save on Wegovy by applying for financial assistance programs, switching insurance companies, or using savings cards or coupons. For instance, a free SingleCare coupon can lower the cash price of Wegovy from $1,872 to $1,225 for four prefilled pens containing 2.4mg/0.75 mL. Exact savings may depend on your location and pharmacy.
“If cost is an issue, it’s a good idea to have that conversation with your doctor,” Dr. Rao says. Your healthcare provider can offer medical advice on lower-cost alternatives or navigate insurance coverage documentation for prior authorization or step therapy, when appropriate.
The SingleCare prices in this article are the most accurate at the time of publishing in ZIP code 23666 as of Dec. 9, 2025. Prices vary by pharmacy. Visit our Wegovy coupon page for updated Wegovy prices near you.
- Prescribing information: WEGOVY (semaglutide) injection, for subcutaneous use, Food and Drug Administration (2025)
- FDA’s concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss, Food and Drug Administration (2025)
- Protect yourself from counterfeit and unsafe, mass compounded products, Eli Lilly
- FDA clarifies policies for compounders as national GLP-1 supply begins to stabilize, Food and Drug Administration (2025)
- An overview of compounding, The Clinical Utility of Compounded Bioidentical Hormone Therapy: A Review of Safety, Effectiveness, and Use (2020)
- FDA alerts health care providers, compounders and patients of dosing errors associated with compounded injectable semaglutide products, Food and Drug Administration (2024)
- Paragraph IV patent certifications, Food and Drug Administration (2025)