Wegovy pill and Foundayo both set weekly prescription highs, with Novo still ahead

Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill and Eli Lilly's Foundayo both posted their highest weekly prescription totals yet in the latest tracking period, and the Wegovy pill stayed well ahead. The oral semaglutide reached roughly 183,000 total prescriptions, up from 181,000 the prior week, while Foundayo, orforglipron, climbed nearly 8% to 47,500, according to IQVIA data cited by Citi ^[1].

The figures cover the week reported Sept. 11, 2026. Novo launched the Wegovy pill in January, giving it about a three-month head start over Foundayo, and the weekly tracker has shown that lead holding since ^[1].

Foundayo passed 40,000 weekly prescriptions for the first time in the week reported Aug. 28, at 40,862 scripts — its 20th week on the market. For comparison, the Wegovy pill drew about 57,000 prescriptions in week 6 of its own launch, and the same tracker showed Foundayo at 19,550 prescriptions in week 13 versus more than 105,000 for the Wegovy pill at the same point ^[1]. Citi analysts noted that IQVIA may still be missing some Foundayo prescriptions filled through telehealth channels, and how large that gap is has not been disclosed ^[1].

Within the broader Wegovy brand, the pill accounted for 35% of total Wegovy prescriptions in the week reported Sept. 4, when total Wegovy scripts rose 2.7% to 513,500. Lilly's injected Zepbound rose 1.6% to a little under 772,000 scripts in the same period ^[1].

Across the whole GLP-1 class, total prescriptions rose 5.4% over the last four weeks, compared with a 6.8% decline in the same stretch a year earlier. Citi attributed that 12-percentage-point swing to oral GLP-1 therapies broadening access and drawing in new patients ^[1]. Lilly's tirzepatide now holds close to 57% of the total GLP-1 market, up from about 49.5% a year ago, while Novo's semaglutide has stayed relatively flat at a 37% share ^[1].

Foundayo's early launch was slowed in part by insurance coverage. CVS was the last of the three major pharmacy benefit managers to cover the drug, starting June 1, while the Wegovy pill had full coverage from its first week on the market ^[1]. Lilly began broad direct-to-consumer marketing after securing commercial access across those three PBMs in June, and Lilly USA president Ilya Yuffa said the company is "starting to see an inflection point on Foundayo now" ^[1]. Lilly reported $98 million in Foundayo sales for the second quarter, including $67 million in the U.S., a result that disappointed many analysts ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

The prescription trend matters most because it reflects how many people are actually getting these drugs, not how well they work. Head-to-head comparisons of the two pills have not been reported in this tracking data, so the weekly counts say nothing about which one produces more weight loss or fewer side effects ^[1].

Access is a bigger factor in the numbers than many patients might assume. Foundayo's slower start followed months in which it lacked full coverage from the largest pharmacy benefit managers, while the Wegovy pill had full coverage from launch ^[1]. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program, which went live July 1, covers certain weight-loss medicines including Foundayo for a $50 monthly copayment ^[1].

Patients comparing the two orals also face a reporting gap. Because IQVIA may undercount Foundayo prescriptions filled through telehealth, the true number of people starting that drug could be higher than the published weekly figure, but the size of the undercount has not been disclosed ^[1].

For anyone weighing an oral option, the practical difference highlighted in the tracking is the dosing routine: Lilly is betting that Foundayo's freedom from strict fasting and water requirements gives it an edge over the Wegovy pill, which carries the more familiar Wegovy brand name ^[1]. How those differences play out for individual patients is a question for a prescriber, not for prescription counts.