Ozempic vs Wegovy: same medicine, different labels

Ozempic and Wegovy at a glance

Ozempic and Wegovy are brand names for products that contain the same medicine, semaglutide. They are separate products with separate labels, separate pens and separate trial programs. The semaglutide page has the full details on the medicine.

Uses and strengths are from the DailyMed labels the Atlas read (versions read: Ozempic injection 5/2026, Wegovy 6/2026, Ozempic and Rybelsus tablets 1/2026). The strengths differ between the two products. The Atlas gives no conversion between them, and the numbers are not interchangeable. See the brand and generic names page for how the products relate.

Why does one medicine have two names?

The FDA approves a product for specific uses, based on the trials the company ran. Novo Nordisk first brought semaglutide to market for type 2 diabetes as Ozempic. It then ran a separate set of trials, with higher strengths, in people with obesity and overweight, and the result was a second product with its own label: Wegovy.

That is why the labels differ even though the medicine is the same. Ozempic's label covers diabetes, heart and kidney uses in people with type 2 diabetes. Wegovy's covers weight reduction, a heart use in adults with obesity or overweight, and a liver use (MASH) in adults. A plan can tie coverage to the label's uses, which is why the name on a prescription can matter. The paying for GLP-1 medicines page covers the main ways people pay.

What did the trials behind each label test?

Each label rests on its own trials. The table lists the main ones the Atlas holds. They enrolled different people for different lengths of time, so the results are not a single scoreboard.

Novo Nordisk funded every trial in the table. The Atlas read the published abstracts. The 1.0 mg and 2 mg strengths are on Ozempic's label. Wegovy's label lists 2.4 mg as the recommended dose, and its dose steps also pass through 1 mg. The trial results explorer shows weight-loss trials in your own pounds.

How do the weight results compare?

Weight loss was the main goal in STEP 1 and STEP 2, and the results differ by group. The same 2.4 mg strength produced an average of 14.9% in STEP 1, which enrolled adults without diabetes, and 9.6% in STEP 2, which enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes. These are separate trials with different people, so the gap does not isolate a cause. STEP 2 also had a semaglutide 1.0 mg arm, the strength Ozempic's label lists for diabetes, but its abstract gives no weight result for that arm, so the Atlas reports only the 2.4 mg and placebo figures.

SUSTAIN FORTE looked at weight as a secondary result in adults with type 2 diabetes: the 2 mg group lost 0.93 kg more than the 1 mg group over 40 weeks when people who stopped treatment or needed rescue medication are left out, and 0.77 kg more counting everyone randomized (95% CI -1.55 to 0.01). The units differ from the STEP trials, which report a percentage of body weight, so do not line the numbers up.

The Atlas did not find a placebo-controlled trial of the Ozempic strengths for weight loss in adults without diabetes. The weight-loss label rests on the trials of the Wegovy strengths. Trials that compare two medicines head to head are sorted on the combination and head-to-head trials page.

How do the side effects compare?

Both labels carry the same boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors seen in rodents and list the same kind of common effects, mostly digestive. For Ozempic, the label lists nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation. For Wegovy, its table in the label the Atlas read also lists headache, fatigue, indigestion, dizziness and hair loss, among others.

The percentages in the two tables should not be set side by side. They come from different trials, different doses and different people. The placebo groups show the gap: nausea was reported by 6.1% of people on placebo in Ozempic's table and 16% in Wegovy's. On Ozempic, nausea was reported by 15.8% on 0.5 mg and 20.3% on 1 mg. On Wegovy 2.4 mg, it was 44%.

In SELECT, 16.6% of people on semaglutide 2.4 mg stopped the trial medicine because of adverse events, compared with 8.2% on placebo. In SUSTAIN FORTE, digestive adverse events were reported by 34% on 2 mg and 31% on 1 mg. The week-by-week side effects page shows when digestive effects tend to appear as doses rise.

What about the pills?

Each brand also has a daily tablet. The oral semaglutide label the Atlas read (version 1/2026) covers two products for type 2 diabetes, Ozempic tablets and Rybelsus tablets. The Ozempic tablets come in 1.5, 4 and 9 mg and the Rybelsus tablets in 3, 7 and 14 mg, and the label says the two are not substitutable on a mg-to-mg basis. The Wegovy pill is oral semaglutide for weight management. The names are easy to mix up, so check which product a prescription names. The weight-loss pills guide explains how the two weight-loss pills differ, and the pill or shot page sets them next to the injections.

Which one is right for me?

A label cannot answer that. A prescriber looks at your diagnoses, the other medicines you take, how you handle side effects, what your plan covers and what is in stock. Using a product for something its label does not list is called off-label use, and it is a decision between you and your prescriber. The Atlas does not advise on it. The first visit page and the questions to ask your prescriber help you prepare.

What about compounded versions?

Compounded versions are made by pharmacies, are not FDA-approved and are not reviewed by the FDA for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are sold. The trial numbers on this page describe the approved products, not compounded ones. See compounded versus brand-name medicines and what semaglutide and tirzepatide are.

Quick answers

Is Ozempic the same as Wegovy?

Both contain semaglutide and are made by Novo Nordisk. They are separate products with separate labels, strengths and pens. Ozempic's label lists type 2 diabetes uses, and Wegovy's lists weight reduction, a cardiovascular use in adults with obesity or overweight, and a liver use (MASH) in adults.

Is Wegovy stronger than Ozempic?

Wegovy's label goes up to 2.4 mg weekly, and to 7.2 mg for some adults, while Ozempic's goes up to 2 mg. Each label rests on its own trials, and the Atlas gives no conversion between the strengths. In STEP 2, adults with type 2 diabetes lost an average of 9.6% on semaglutide 2.4 mg and 3.4% on placebo.

Is Ozempic approved for weight loss?

No. Ozempic's label lists type 2 diabetes uses. Wegovy, which also contains semaglutide, is the product labeled for weight reduction.

What does off-label use of Ozempic mean?

It means a prescriber uses an approved product for something its label does not list. It is legal and common in medicine. The Atlas does not advise on it. A prescriber can explain the reasoning and the trade-offs.

Do the side effects differ?

Both labels carry the same boxed warning and list mostly digestive effects. The percentages in each label come from different trials, doses and people, so they cannot be compared directly.

Does Wegovy have heart benefits that Ozempic does not?

Both labels list a cardiovascular use, for different groups. Ozempic's covers adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease. Wegovy's covers adults with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight. In SELECT, major cardiovascular events occurred in 6.5% on semaglutide 2.4 mg and 8.0% on placebo.

Is there a liver use for either one?

Wegovy's injection label lists MASH with moderate to advanced liver scarring in adults under accelerated approval. Ozempic's label does not list it. The ESSENCE trial reported its interim results at 72 weeks.

Can you switch from Ozempic to Wegovy?

The Atlas's switching page summarizes what current labels say about switching, including Ozempic's and Wegovy's, and the small studies that exist. In the label versions the Atlas read, the only switching text is in Wegovy's label, for moving between Wegovy's own injection and tablets.

Which is cheaper?

Prices, coverage rules and offers change often. The paying for GLP-1 medicines page covers how people pay, and the cost tool adds up listed prices over a year.

Questions to ask

• Which uses on each label match my diagnosis, and how does my plan treat that?
• If a product is being used for something its label does not list, what is the reason and what are the trade-offs?
• What would each product cost me with my coverage, including after the first month?
• Which side effects should I expect, and when should I call?
• If the first product does not suit me, what is the plan?

What is still unknown

• The Atlas found no trial that compares the Ozempic and Wegovy products head to head. STEP 2 had both a 2.4 mg and a 1.0 mg semaglutide arm, but the abstract the Atlas read gives no weight result for the 1.0 mg arm.
• The Atlas did not find a placebo-controlled weight-loss trial of the Ozempic strengths in adults without diabetes.
• Side-effect percentages come from different trials, doses and people, so the Atlas does not rank the two products on tolerability.
• The Atlas read the published abstracts of these trials, not the full papers.
• Labels change, so check the current Ozempic and Wegovy labels for the exact uses and strengths.