Wegovy ingredients: what is in Wegovy?

Wegovy is now available in two forms: oral and injection. If you’re considering one of these options,  you might be wondering, “What is in Wegovy?” The short answer is that Wegovy’s active ingredient is semaglutide, and that’s true of both forms. But a complete list of Wegovy ingredients includes inactive ingredients, too.

Below, we unpack the ingredients in Wegovy, including the differences between what’s in Wegovy oral tablets versus injections.

Wegovy contains one active ingredient, semaglutide. According to the drug label, Wegovy shots also contain at least three inactive ingredients, and Wegovy tablets contain two inactive ingredients. 

So, what does that actually mean? Medications contain both active and inactive ingredients. The active ingredient (aka active drug) is what produces the intended effect. Everything else is an inactive ingredient, also called excipients. Examples of excipients include fillers, coatings, binders, and dyes. They do not treat your condition, but help form, stabilize, and protect the active ingredient.

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The active ingredient in Wegovy injections and tablets is semaglutide. (Fun fact: semaglutide is also the active ingredient in Ozempic  and Rybelsus!). Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (aka GLP-1). It reduces body weight by slowing digestion, reducing your appetite, and regulating blood sugar levels.

The amount of semaglutide in each Wegovy injection pen or tablet depends on your prescribed dose. Single-dose Wegovy injection pens are filled with liquid solution that contains 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, or 2.4 mg of semaglutide. Oral Wegovy tablets contain 1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg, or 25 mg of semaglutide.

The Wegovy injection and pill contain different inactive ingredients because they are designed to deliver semaglutide to the body through different routes. The injectable version is a liquid solution that you inject under the skin, while the oral version is a powder compressed into a tablet that you swallow whole.  

The Wegovy pill contains two inactive ingredients:

• Salcaprozate sodium (SNAC). This inactive substance helps your body absorb the medication. SNAC protects semaglutide from being broken down by digestive enzymes in the stomach and allows it to enter the bloodstream more easily.

• Magnesium stearate. This ingredient is a lubricant. It is commonly used to prevent the active ingredient from sticking to the manufacturing equipment that presses the oral tablets into shape. 

Wegovy injections contain three inactive ingredients:

• Disodium phosphate dihydrate. This is a type of salt used as a “buffering agent” in injection solutions. Basically, this salt helps keep the pH and chemical composition stable.

• Sodium chloride. This is a tonicity agent. Tonicity describes how concentrated or diluted a solution is. Sodium chloride is used to adjust how “salty” the solution is to make it compatible with the body’s natural fluids, which is important to minimize injection site reactions.

• Water for injection. Highly purified water is used to make injectable medicines. It acts as the liquid base that dissolves or carries the drug.

According to Wegovy’s drug label, an additional inactive ingredient — either hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide — is sometimes added to the injectable solution to adjust pH. 

No, Wegovy does not contain preservatives. 

Preservatives are typically added to sterile medications that come in multi-dose vials or pens. Since these vials are made to be used more than once, they contain preservatives to help prevent germs from growing inside the vial. But Wegovy is not available in multi-dose vials or pens.

A Wegovy pen contains a single dose of sterile solution. It is designed to be used one time by one person, so preservatives aren’t necessary.

Yes, you can have an allergic reaction to any of Wegovy’s ingredients — just as you could to ingredients in other medications. 

The good news is that serious allergic reactions to GLP-1s are rare. In clinical trials, only 2% of people taking 2.4 mg of semaglutide made antibodies against the drug. But the number of people who actually have an allergic reaction to Wegovy is probably even lower. That’s because having these antibodies makes a reaction more likely — but it doesn’t mean one will definitely happen.

So, what would an allergic reaction to Wegovy ingredients look like? Seek urgent medical attention if you experience any of these symptoms of a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction from Wegovy:

• Difficulty breathing or swallowing

• Dizziness

• Fainting 

• Rapid heartbeat

• Facial swelling

• Swelling of the tongue or throat

• Hives or severe itching all over the body

Note that having an injection site reaction from the Wegovy shot, such as pain, redness, or itching, does not always mean you’re having an allergic reaction. Normally, these symptoms are typically mild and temporary. But if you have a skin reaction or rash that feels severe or spreads beyond the injection site area, it’s best to seek medical attention. 

Bottom line: It’s possible to have an allergic reaction to Wegovy if you’re allergic to any one of its ingredients (active or inactive). If you have an allergy to semaglutide or any of Wegovy’s inactive ingredients, you should not take this medication.

Wegovy’s active ingredient, semaglutide, is made using a process called recombinant DNA technology. Here’s how it works: Scientists take pieces of DNA from different sources and combine them — kind of like a puzzle. They then put this DNA into yeast cells, which act like tiny factories to make copies of what the DNA tells them to. For Wegovy, these cells produce the peptide backbone of semaglutide — a small protein that copies what the hormone GLP-1 naturally does in your body. Semaglutide is almost identical to the real thing, matching 94% of human GLP-1. 

Making Wegovy pills or injections actually usable requires recombinant DNA-produced semaglutide to be formulated with the other inactive ingredients. As of 2023, Novo Nordisk (the manufacturer of Wegovy) stated that its semaglutide was produced only at its own facilities in Denmark. The injection pens are currently manufactured in Belgium, Indiana, and North Carolina. Wegovy tablets are made in North Carolina.

No, you shouldn’t cut Wegovy pills. The medication instructions are clear that Wegovy pills should be swallowed whole — never split, crushed, or chewed. Splitting pills can lead to inaccurate dosing, potentially reducing benefits or increasing the risk of side effects. 

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Here’s the recap on what you need to know about the ingredients in Wegovy:

• Semaglutide is the active ingredient. This key ingredient is responsible for Wegovy’s primary effects — appetite suppression and blood sugar regulation.

• Inactive Wegovy ingredients differ. Wegovy injections contain water, two types of salt, and, in some cases, pH adjusters. Wegovy tablets contain SNAC (a different type of salt) to promote absorption and magnesium stearate as a flow agent.

• Any ingredient (active or inactive) can cause an allergic reaction. Watch for signs of a serious reaction, such as trouble breathing, hives, or facial swelling.

• Wegovy is made with recombinant DNA technology using yeast fermentation. This highly complex process enables scientists to produce semaglutide, which closely mimics GLP-1, a natural human hormone.

• Consult your provider for questions about Wegovy. A healthcare professional can offer medical advice on concerns about any Wegovy ingredients, as well as whether the injection or the pill is best for you.