Wegovy® pill launches in the UAE as Novo Nordisk expands global access to obesity care

Novo Nordisk today announced the launch of Wegovy® pill (semaglutide tablets) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first country outside the United States to make the Wegovy® pill available to people living with obesity. The launch marks an important step in Novo Nordisk’s ambition to expand access to innovative obesity treatments and broaden treatment options for people living with obesity around the world.

“I am thrilled that Wegovy® pill is now available in the UAE,” said Emil Kongshøj Larsen, executive vice president, International Operations at Novo Nordisk. “This launch represents an important milestone in our ambition to expand access to innovative obesity care globally. As we look to future launches, our approach will be guided by local patient demand, the readiness of healthcare professionals, and the strength of healthcare and telehealth infrastructure that can support long-term obesity care. The UAE has demonstrated strong momentum across all of these areas, and we look forward to bringing Wegovy® pill to additional select countries in the coming months.”

The Wegovy® pill is the first oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist therapy approved for weight management. The approval is based on the OASIS 4 trial programme.

In the OASIS 4 trial, oral semaglutide 25 mg taken once daily demonstrated ~17% mean weight loss when treatment was adhered to in adult participants with obesity or overweight with one or more comorbidities. The weight loss achieved with the Wegovy® pill is similar to that of injectable Wegovy® 2.4 mg. Furthermore, 1 in 3 people experienced 20% or greater weight loss in the OASIS 4 trial. The established safety and tolerability profile of semaglutide was reaffirmed with Wegovy® pill in the OASIS-4 trial, which was comparable to previous trials with semaglutide for weight management.

Wegovy® pill is also the only weight-loss pill approved by both the FDA and the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including heart attack and stroke, in adults with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight.

Worldwide, 1 billion people live with obesity, and in the UAE, 28% of adults are living with obesity, with almost 7.5 million people projected to be living with obesity or overweight by 2035.

Novo Nordisk has previously announced that we will launch Wegovy® pill in select markets in the second half of 2026.