Drug Guides
In-depth guides to every GLP-1 medication — costs, side effects, dosing schedules, and where to buy.
Semaglutide
Ozempic • Wegovy • Rybelsus
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved by the FDA for both type 2 diabetes management and chronic weight management. It has become one of the most prescribed medications in the United States, with clinical trials demonstrating weight loss of up to 15% of body weight.
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Tirzepatide
Mounjaro • Zepbound
Tirzepatide is a first-in-class dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist that activates two incretin hormone pathways simultaneously. It is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes as Mounjaro and for chronic weight management as Zepbound, and has demonstrated superior weight loss outcomes compared to semaglutide in head-to-head trials.
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Wegovy
Wegovy
Wegovy is the brand-name formulation of semaglutide 2.4mg, specifically FDA-approved for chronic weight management in adults with obesity (BMI ≥30) or overweight (BMI ≥27) with at least one weight-related condition. It is a weekly subcutaneous injection developed by Novo Nordisk.
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Ozempic
Ozempic
Ozempic is the brand-name formulation of semaglutide FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes management, though it has become widely prescribed off-label for weight loss. It is available in doses of 0.5mg, 1mg, and 2mg weekly, and is manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Ozempic also carries an FDA indication to reduce cardiovascular risk in adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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Mounjaro
Mounjaro
Mounjaro is the brand-name formulation of tirzepatide FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, manufactured by Eli Lilly. It is prescribed weekly by injection and has become extremely popular off-label for weight loss given its superior efficacy data. Like Ozempic, Mounjaro is often prescribed for weight management while awaiting broader obesity indications.
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Zepbound
Zepbound
Zepbound is the brand-name formulation of tirzepatide 2.5–15mg specifically FDA-approved for chronic weight management, launched by Eli Lilly in late 2023. It is chemically identical to Mounjaro but approved specifically for obesity treatment, making it eligible for different insurance coverage pathways and savings programs.
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Foundayo
Foundayo
Foundayo (orforglipron) is the first FDA-approved once-daily oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist for chronic weight management. Approved by the FDA on April 1, 2026, Foundayo is taken as a single tablet once a day with no food or water restrictions, marking a major change from injectable GLP-1s and from oral semaglutide (Rybelsus), which has strict food and water rules. In the 72-week ATTAIN-1 phase 3 trial, the highest dose produced 12.4% mean weight loss versus 0.9% on placebo.
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Saxenda
Saxenda
Saxenda is the brand-name formulation of liraglutide 3.0 mg, the first GLP-1 receptor agonist FDA-approved for chronic weight management in adults (December 23, 2014) and later for adolescents aged 12 and older (December 4, 2020). It is a once-daily subcutaneous injection delivered through a multi-dose pre-filled pen and is manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Saxenda has since been overtaken in efficacy by once-weekly successors Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4 mg, 2021) and Zepbound (tirzepatide, 2023) — the head-to-head STEP-8 trial showed semaglutide 2.4 mg produced 15.8% mean weight loss versus 6.4% with liraglutide 3.0 mg over 68 weeks. It still retains distinct clinical niches: it is the only GLP-1 with an FDA pediatric weight-management indication, and its short 13-hour half-life makes it preferred for patients planning pregnancy who need a rapid washout.
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Trulicity
Trulicity
Trulicity is the brand-name formulation of dulaglutide, a once-weekly subcutaneous GLP-1 receptor agonist FDA-approved for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes and for cardiovascular risk reduction in adults with type 2 diabetes who have established cardiovascular disease or multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Manufactured by Eli Lilly, Trulicity was the first GLP-1 to show a CV benefit in a primary-prevention diabetes population (REWIND, 2019). It has never had an obesity indication — average weight loss in trials is modest at roughly 3–5 kg — and Wegovy and Zepbound dominate the chronic weight management category.
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Rybelsus
Rybelsus
Rybelsus is the brand-name oral tablet formulation of semaglutide, FDA-approved September 20, 2019 as the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist ever brought to market. It is approved for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes and is taken as a single tablet once daily on an empty stomach. Rybelsus is manufactured by Novo Nordisk and is the same semaglutide molecule used in injectable Ozempic and Wegovy, but reformulated with an absorption enhancer (SNAC) that allows the peptide to cross the stomach lining intact.
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Contrave
Contrave
Contrave is a fixed-dose oral combination of naltrexone HCl 8 mg (an opioid receptor antagonist) and bupropion HCl 90 mg (a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) formulated as an extended-release tablet for chronic weight management. It was FDA-approved September 10, 2014 and is currently marketed by Currax Pharmaceuticals (the U.S. SPL labeler of record is Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals LLC, a Currax subsidiary). Contrave is not a GLP-1 receptor agonist — it acts in the brain on appetite-regulating hypothalamic neurons and on the mesolimbic dopamine reward circuit. Average weight loss in the pivotal COR trials at the 32 mg / 360 mg daily maintenance dose was roughly 4-5% body weight at 56 weeks placebo-subtracted, substantially less than GLP-1s like Wegovy (~14.9%) or Zepbound (~22.5%), positioning Contrave as a lower-cost option for patients who cannot tolerate GLP-1 gastrointestinal side effects or who have co-occurring nicotine or alcohol use disorder where bupropion or naltrexone may offer secondary benefit.
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Qsymia
Qsymia
Qsymia is a fixed-dose oral combination of phentermine (a sympathomimetic amine appetite suppressant) and topiramate extended-release (an anticonvulsant also used for migraine prophylaxis) developed by VIVUS LLC and FDA-approved July 17, 2012 for chronic weight management. A pediatric indication for patients aged 12 years and older was added in December 2022, making Qsymia one of the few weight-loss medications approved in adolescents. It is not a GLP-1 receptor agonist — it works through central appetite suppression and modulation of GABA/glutamate signaling rather than incretin pathways. Qsymia is dispensed only through a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program because of teratogenicity risk (topiramate causes cleft palate in first-trimester exposures) and a suicidality warning carried over from topiramate's antiepileptic class label. Because phentermine is a Schedule IV controlled substance, prescriptions are subject to DEA limits, and Qsymia capsules cannot be called in indefinitely.
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Editorial guides
Each drug-specific page above covers FDA-label specifics and pricing. The editorial guides below add cross-drug context: which injection to choose, what insurance will pay for, and how the per-state Medicaid coverage decisions break down.
Sources & methodology — as of June 2026
- 1.FDA — Wegovy (semaglutide) Approval History via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 2.FDA — Zepbound (tirzepatide) Approval History via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 3.FDA — Ozempic (semaglutide) Prescribing Information via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 4.FDA — Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Prescribing Information via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 5.FDA — Rybelsus (oral semaglutide) Prescribing Information via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.