A Capsule Model of Wegovy Hits Pharmacies

[ad_1] Within the final week of December, whereas a lot of the U.S. was nonetheless in vacation mode, Novo Nordisk’s plant in North Carolina was working at full capability.

On Dec. 22, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the corporate’s oral model of Wegovy, making it the primary capsule of the favored GLP-1 drugs to get the inexperienced mild for weight reduction. Individuals who wish to shed some pounds and are prescribed Wegovy now have the choice of taking the pill every day, versus injecting themselves with the drug as soon as per week. They’ll lose about the identical quantity of weight with both model: between 16% and 17% of their beginning physique weight.

The plant, simply exterior of Raleigh, is working across the clock to provide bottles of tablets in 4 totally different doses. The bottles are sure for retail shops and on-line pharmacies and might be obtainable beginning on Jan. 5. “Weight problems has develop into a consumer-oriented illness,” mentioned Novo Nordisk’s CEO Mike Doustdar in an interview with TIME. “We’re embracing that.”

The corporate’s total provide of the drug, from begin to end, might be manufactured in North Carolina. Days earlier than the launch of Wegovy capsule, TIME visited the plant to observe how the primary Wegovy tablets are being produced, bottled, and packaged for sufferers.

<img alt="" loading="lazy" width="1920" height="2400" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="h-auto w-full object-cover" style="color:transparent" srcset="/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-01.jpg&w=1920&q=75 1x, /redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-01.jpg&w=3840&q=75 2x" src="https://time.com/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-01.jpg&w=3840&q=75"/> A technician displays one among many steps within the modification and purification course of that produces semaglutide, the primary ingredient in Wegovy. Jeremy M. Lange for TIME All of it begins with yeast Wegovy capsule begins with a fungus: particularly, the identical yeast used to make bread, referred to as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However as an alternative of fermenting sugars or grains to make bread rise, the yeast cells are genetically engineered at Novo Nordisk’s facility in Clayton, North Carolina to provide a protein that undergoes fermentation in a number of four-story tall tanks, then a number of purification steps over a few month to provide semaglutide, a compound that mimics a human hormone that regulates urge for food by working within the reward heart of the mind. It could actually assist individuals really feel full and cut back emotions of starvation.

Harvesting the primary ingredient After the fermentation and purification course of, semaglutide types a beige paste with the consistency of pancake batter. In one of many few guide steps within the largely automated manufacturing, technicians scrape the paste from massive funnels and freeze it at -20°C, the place it retains for as much as 5 years. However given the recognition of Wegovy and the anticipated demand for the capsule, the corporate at the moment has a few month’s provide of semaglutide in its freezers.

Taking capsule type Within the remaining step of the method, the paste is thawed and purified right into a liquid at a excessive temperature. That heated liquid is then spray-dried right into a effective white powder, much like the way in which snow-making machines flip scorching water into snow. That powder, collected in massive luggage from a funnel that extends by three flooring, is then pressed into Wegovy tablets.

<img alt="Wegovy pill launch" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1920" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="h-auto w-full object-cover" style="color:transparent" srcset="/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-04.jpg&w=2400&q=75 1x, /redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-04.jpg&w=3840&q=75 2x" src="https://time.com/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-04.jpg&w=3840&q=75"/> The best dose Wegovy tablets are sorted earlier than bottling on the Novo Nordisk Strong Dosage Varieties (SDF) facility in North Carolina on Dec. 30, 2025. Jeremy M. Lange for TIME An extended path to the capsule Whereas this semaglutide capsule is the primary to deal with weight problems, it isn’t the primary that Novo Nordisk has made. The corporate’s scientists first grew to become curious about semaglutide as a diabetes remedy since it might additionally assist management blood glucose, and its first semaglutide-based remedy, Ozempic, was accepted in 2017 for diabetes. Sufferers injected themselves as soon as per week to manage blood sugar, however to make taking the drug simpler, the corporate additionally developed a capsule type, referred to as Rybelsus, which the FDA accepted in 2019. Turning Ozempic into an oral capsule required discovering a method to defend the drug from the hostile atmosphere of the abdomen simply lengthy sufficient for it to be absorbed by the physique. “However with plenty of these methods, it could trigger an excessive amount of permeability—so issues that shouldn’t be absorbed, like micro organism or different issues, had been absorbed,” says Andrea Traina, senior medical director for weight problems and liver well being at Novo Nordisk. The scientists finally discovered a method to create a chemical buffer to protect the drug whereas it launched sufficient semaglutide to be efficient. Nonetheless, as a result of the capsule has to undergo the abdomen and digestive tract, it’s typically not as efficient because the injected Ozempic.

<img alt="Wegovy pill launch" loading="lazy" width="1920" height="2400" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="h-auto w-full object-cover" style="color:transparent" srcset="/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-10.jpg&w=1920&q=75 1x, /redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-10.jpg&w=3840&q=75 2x" src="https://time.com/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-10.jpg&w=3840&q=75"/> Bottle caps containing a drying agent to maintain tablets from publicity to moisture are transported inside the packaging part of the Novo Nordisk Strong Dosage Varieties (SDF) facility on Dec. 30, 2025 in North Carolina. Jeremy M. Lange for TIME When diabetes sufferers observed they had been shedding pounds on semaglutide, Novo Nordisk and different firms started to review the compound for its potential results on weight problems. Research confirmed what these sufferers had been experiencing, and in 2021, the FDA accepted Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy to deal with weight problems. However individuals nonetheless needed to inject themselves with the remedy to profit from its results. Growing the Wegovy capsule grew to become the subsequent problem, and the identical hurdles the corporate confronted in creating Rybelsus remained. However this time, the researchers developed a proprietary fatty acid spinoff to higher navigate the troublesome atmosphere of the abdomen. “After you swallow the pill, it is available in contact with the abdomen lining and begins to dissolve and create a foamy microenvironment across the capsule,” says Traina. “Image an Alka-Seltzer pill dissolving in water.” The response quickly inhibits abdomen enzymes within the space from breaking down the drug, which provides the semaglutide sufficient time to be absorbed. “The entire course of takes about half an hour,” she says, after which period “the microenvironment of the abdomen goes again to regular.” To maximise the capsule’s potential to soak up, individuals taking it ought to swallow it very first thing within the morning on an empty abdomen with as much as half a glass of water with no meals, drinks, or different drugs for at the least half-hour, the corporate advises, so nothing will intervene with the capsule’s exercise.

<img alt="Wegovy pill launch" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1920" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="h-auto w-full object-cover" style="color:transparent" srcset="/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-07.jpg&w=2400&q=75 1x, /redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-07.jpg&w=3840&q=75 2x" src="https://time.com/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-07.jpg&w=3840&q=75"/> Piles of 25mg Wegovy tablets await bottling and packaging. Jeremy M. Lange for TIME Stiff competitors Wegovy capsule will not be the one GLP-1 weight-loss capsule on the horizon. Eli Lilly, which makes the injectable GLP-1 medicine Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight reduction (utilizing the energetic ingredient tirzepatide) has developed a capsule referred to as orforglipron. In December, the corporate launched constructive information exhibiting its capsule may assist individuals keep weight reduction after utilizing injected types of GLP-1 medicine for greater than a yr and submitted a request to the FDA for approval. The company granted orforglipron a precedence voucher in November, which means the FDA will conduct an expedited assessment in order that capsule can come to market a lot quicker than the standard drug.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been locked in a GLP-1 competitors for years. Some analysis has discovered that Lilly’s drug Zepbound results in better weight reduction—as much as 21% of physique weight—in comparison with 15% on Wegovy. “The distinction could be very largely linked to doses,” says Doustdar; the very best dose tirzepatide is larger than that of semaglutide in Wegovy. For that purpose, Novo Nordisk is creating the next dose of Wegovy within the injectable type that produces comparable quantities of about 20% weight reduction. “We might be bringing Wegovy-Plus into the market [in 2026] so it's going to shut the hole with our competitor,” he says.

<img alt="Wegovy pill launch" loading="lazy" width="1920" height="2400" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="h-auto w-full object-cover" style="color:transparent" srcset="/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-08.jpg&w=1920&q=75 1x, /redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-08.jpg&w=3840&q=75 2x" src="https://time.com/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-08.jpg&w=3840&q=75"/> Remaining packaging for the 1.5 mg Wegovy tablets on the Novo Nordisk Strong Dosage Varieties (SDF) facility on Dec. 30. 2025 in North Carolina. Jeremy M. Lange for TIME He additionally sees semaglutide as the corporate’s “secret sauce” that appears to provide quite a few well being advantages. It’s the one GLP-1 drug that the FDA permits to assert on its label advantages forthat coronary heart illness and sure liver situations profit. Whereas current analysis discovered that the compound didn't gradual Alzheimer’s illness, as many had hoped it could, the drug’s potential to cut back irritation may result in extra well being advantages in different metabolic illnesses.

Doustdar, who was appointed to move Novo Nordisk final summer season as the corporate started dropping market share within the GLP-1 house to Eli Lilly, sees Wegovy capsule as a coup for the corporate—and a return to specializing in diabetes and weight problems. “This can be a huge illness space. We’re speaking about two billion individuals, and ultimately, somebody has to provide all of the doses for them. We're sitting in the appropriate spot proper now [to do that], and nonetheless solely touching a fraction of the people who find themselves in want.”

<img alt="Wegovy pill launch" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1920" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="h-auto w-full object-cover" style="color:transparent" srcset="/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-03.jpg&w=2400&q=75 1x, /redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-03.jpg&w=3840&q=75 2x" src="https://time.com/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2Fwegovy-pill-launch-2026-03.jpg&w=3840&q=75"/> A 25mg Wegovy capsule on the Novo Nordisk Strong Dosage Varieties (SDF) facility. All Wegovy tablets might be bottled and packaged at this facility and the API (energetic pharmaceutical ingredient) facility producing semaglutide close by. Jeremy M. Lange for TIME Choices for the capsule In coming weeks, Wegovy capsule might be obtainable in 4 doses: a starter dose of 1.5 mg, in addition to 4 mg, 9 mg, and 25 mg. As with injectable Wegovy, most sufferers will begin with the bottom dose and steadily ramp up their dosage over a interval of months till they attain the utmost dose, which they may proceed to take care of their new weight.

As the corporate and the White Home introduced in November, the starter dose will price $149 for a month’s provide for individuals paying out-of-pocket and utilizing federal insurance coverage. The subsequent-highest dose might be $149 till April 2026, after which it's going to improve to $199 a month. The 2 highest doses will price $299 for a month’s value of tablets. Folks with insurance coverage that cowl the tablets might pay as little as $24 for a 30-day provide.

Doustdar says the White Home announcement was the results of a number of months of debate to achieve a mutually agreeable value plan for the drug. “For us to have the ability to make any offers, it has to not be a zero-sum sport, however a win-win scenario,” he says. “We wanted to clarify that the price of operations within the U.S. could be very totally different from the price of operations in Europe.”

“Then again, we additionally acknowledge that at increased costs, we is not going to get entry to greater volumes,” he says—and with tons of of tens of millions of individuals around the globe who may doubtlessly profit from a weight-loss drug, Doustdar hopes Wegovy capsule might be extra handy, and accessible, for them.