Novo Nordisk begins selling Wegovy pill in Germany, its first EU market

Novo Nordisk began selling the Wegovy pill in German pharmacies on September 1, 2026, the first of the 27 European Union member states to stock the once-daily tablet ^[1][2][3]. The product is oral semaglutide 25 mg, the same active ingredient used in injectable Wegovy and in Ozempic for diabetes ^[1].

The European Commission authorized the tablet on July 15, 2026, after a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's medicines committee in May ^[1][3]. The same decision covered a Wegovy 7.2 mg single-dose injection pen ^[3]. Novo described the authorization as a "milestone," Euronews reported ^[2].

A Novo spokesperson told Reuters that pharmacy retail prices will vary by dose and will be comparable to the Wegovy pen, which currently runs between €170 and €280 in Germany ^[1]. Euronews reported the same range for the tablet ^[2]. Whether German statutory insurers will pay for the tablet has not been disclosed, and first-week prescription figures have not been reported ^[3]. Pricing and reimbursement decisions in Europe stay with national governments rather than the EU authorization ^[3].

Unlike the injection, which is approved in the EU from age 12, the tablet is licensed for adults only ^[1][2][3]. Adults take it once a day on an empty stomach after at least eight hours without food, then wait 30 minutes before eating, drinking or taking other oral medicines; the dose is raised over 16 weeks to reduce gut side effects ^[3].

The weight-loss numbers behind the EU approval come from different descriptions of oral semaglutide studies. Euronews reported on the OASIS-4 trial, in which 205 participants took the drug and 102 took a placebo, and adults with overweight lost an average of about 13.6 percent of body weight ^[2]. NovaPharma News cites the EMA's public overview of a 307-person tablet study showing about 14 percent mean weight loss at 64 weeks versus about 2 percent on placebo, and about 76 percent versus 31 percent of participants losing at least 5 percent of body weight ^[3]. Novo's July 15 statement gave a mean weight loss of about 17 percent ^[3]. Those are separate figures from separate write-ups, not one pooled result ^[3].

Euronews reported that the injection produced higher average weight loss, 19 percent, in a study that ran 72 weeks, two months longer than the 64-week tablet study ^[2]. The EMA's page also lists a 1,961-person trial of injected Wegovy with 15 percent mean loss versus 2 percent on placebo at 68 weeks ^[3].

Many patients taking the medicine experience gastrointestinal complaints including nausea and diarrhea, and it can cause inflammation of the pancreas, according to Euronews ^[2]. The EMA lists headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain among common side effects, affecting more than 1 in 10 people ^[3].

Competition is running alongside the launch. Eli Lilly's weight-loss pill Foundayo (orforglipron) launched in the UK in late August and is under regulatory review in more than 40 markets ^[1]; it is not authorized in the EU ^[3]. Novo's chief executive said in August that the Wegovy pill had captured 90 percent of the oral obesity market ^[1]. Analysts expect the weight-loss drug business to be worth more than $100 billion a year by 2030, and Novo said in January that pills could account for more than a third of GLP-1 use by 2030 ^[1][2].

The German launch follows earlier sales of the pill in the United States, Britain and the United Arab Emirates ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

The German launch does not change what is available in the US, where the pill went on sale earlier this year ^[1]. It matters mainly as a signal about how the pill market is spreading and what form of treatment patients are choosing.

For anyone comparing options, the practical differences are the schedule and the age limit. The tablet is taken daily with fasting and a 30-minute wait before food, drink or other oral medicines, while the injection is given once a week ^[3]. In the EU, the tablet is for adults only, while the pen is cleared from age 12 ^[1][2][3].

Coverage is a separate question. A European Commission authorization applies across the EU, but price and insurance rules remain national, and no German coverage decision has been reported ^[3]. Nothing in the sources describes US list prices, US insurance coverage or how US prices compare with the €170 to €280 German range ^[1][2][3].

What happens next

Novo Nordisk holds a capital markets day on September 21, 2026 ^[1][3]. The company has said it plans more country launches in the second half of 2026 but has not named the next EU state after Germany ^[3]. Lilly expects a rollout of Foundayo across all major markets in 2027 ^[1]. German reimbursement terms and early prescription volumes have not yet been reported ^[3].