Ozempic (semaglutide)
Ozempic is a weekly injection product containing semaglutide, made by Novo Nordisk. Its approved use in the U.S. is type 2 diabetes.
Educational information. This page does not give dosing instructions or tell you what to take. The current label and a prescriber decide that.
What Ozempic is
- Generic name
- Semaglutide
- Maker
- Novo Nordisk
- Form
- Weekly injection
- U.S. approved use
- Type 2 diabetes
- First U.S. approval
- 2017
How it differs from related products
Ozempic contains semaglutide, the same drug as Wegovy, and is also a weekly injection. Its approved use is type 2 diabetes, not weight management. A prescriber using a diabetes-approved product to treat weight is using it off-label. This atlas does not advise on that.
| Product | Form | U.S. approved use | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy | Weekly injection | Weight management | FDA-approved for weight management |
| Wegovy HD | Weekly injection (higher strength) | Weight management | FDA-approved for weight management |
| Wegovy pill | Daily tablet | Weight management | FDA-approved for weight management |
| Ozempic (this page) | Weekly injection | Type 2 diabetes | FDA-approved, but not for obesity |
| Rybelsus | Daily tablet | Type 2 diabetes | FDA-approved, but not for obesity |
What it is approved for
Type 2 diabetes. The current label lists the exact approved uses.
A prescriber using a diabetes-approved product to treat weight is using it off-label. This atlas does not advise on that, and its weight-loss figures are not from studies of this product.
How it is taken
Weekly injection. Follow the current label and your prescriber for how to use it.
What the trials found
The weight-loss trial figures in this atlas come from studies of the weight-management products. They are not shown here because they were not studies of Ozempic's approved use.
Safety
Warnings, side effects and open questions for semaglutide are on the semaglutide page. The official label is the controlling source.
Compiled from public information: FDA-approved labels, manufacturer websites, ClinicalTrials.gov and published journal articles. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
Related
Semaglutide
The generic page: how it works, safety, and what is still unknown.
Wegovy
Wegovy and Ozempic both contain semaglutide as a weekly injection, but they are separate products with different approved uses.
Wegovy HD
Wegovy HD is a higher-strength version of the Wegovy weekly injection.
Wegovy pill
The Wegovy pill contains the same drug as the Wegovy injection, but as a daily tablet instead of a weekly injection.
Rybelsus
Rybelsus is oral semaglutide approved for type 2 diabetes.
Sources
- Ozempic (semaglutide) injection: prescribing information Novo Nordisk, on DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine). Label version 6/2026. Official FDA label on DailyMed
- DailyMed: current FDA drug labels U.S. National Library of Medicine. Regulator
- Drugs@FDA: approved drug products U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Regulator