European Commission approves 7.2 mg Wegovy dose for adults with obesity

The European Commission approved a 7.2 mg once-weekly maintenance dose of Wegovy (semaglutide injection) for adults with obesity on February 17, 2026 ^[1]. The decision clears the higher dose in all 27 European Union countries and follows a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on December 12, 2025 ^[1].

The new dose is meant for adults who need more weight loss than the standard 2.4 mg dose provides. In the EU, doctors can prescribe it as three 2.4 mg injections taken in one sitting, still once a week ^[1]. Novo Nordisk has applied to sell a single 7.2 mg pen in the EU and says that version could be available this year if regulators approve it ^[1]. Until then, the company says adults in the EU can move directly from Wegovy 2.4 mg — taken for at least four weeks — up to 7.2 mg ^[1]. Injectable Wegovy is now sold in the EU in six strengths: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, 1.7 mg, 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg ^[1].

The approval rests mainly on the STEP UP trial, which enrolled 1,407 adults with obesity and without diabetes and ran for about a year and a half ^[1]. Among participants who took the drug as planned, average weight loss was about 21% of body weight, compared with about 2% for those on placebo ^[1]. About one in three participants lost 25% or more of their body weight ^[1]. Body-composition testing found that 84% of the weight lost came from fat mass, and the company said tests showed muscle function was preserved ^[1].

A second study, STEP UP T2D, enrolled 512 adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes; the announcement reports both studies together without separating the diabetes results ^[1]. The most common side effects with the 7.2 mg dose were nausea, diarrhea and vomiting (24.8%) and dysaesthesia, an altered-sensation effect. The company described these events as usually mild to moderate and short-lived ^[1].

"This approval is another important step in helping people living with obesity reach very significant weight loss," said Emil Kongshøj Larsen, executive vice president for International Operations at Novo Nordisk. "The new dose gives healthcare professionals even more flexibility to tailor treatment and help people with obesity achieve their weight loss and health goals." ^[1]

Why it matters for patients

Nothing changes for patients in the United States yet. The 7.2 mg dose is not approved or available there; Novo Nordisk says applications are pending with the FDA and several other countries and has not disclosed a decision date ^[1]. The dose is already approved and available in the UK ^[1].

For people who take Wegovy in the EU, the approval adds an option above 2.4 mg for those who have not lost as much weight as they and their clinician hoped. It also means more medication per week from the same molecule, and the side-effect rates reported for 7.2 mg come from the company's trials rather than from years of everyday use ^[1].

Whether insurers or national health systems in Europe will cover the higher dose, and what it will cost, has not been reported. In the EU, Wegovy's label covers adults with a BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with at least one weight-related condition, as well as children 12 and older who meet certain criteria ^[1]. The EU label also includes data on cardiovascular event risk reduction, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction symptoms and physical function, and knee osteoarthritis pain ^[1].

What happens next

Novo Nordisk says its application for a 7.2 mg single-dose pen is pending in the EU and could be available this year if approved ^[1]. The company has not said when the FDA might act on its US application ^[1]. Wegovy as a pill is available in the United States and is awaiting EU approval ^[1].