GLP-1 is a gut hormone, a signal in the body that helps control blood sugar and appetite.
Semaglutide and liraglutide act like this signal. Tirzepatide acts on this signal and another gut hormone.
GLP-1 is a peptide signal inside the body that helps manage hunger and blood sugar.
What approval means
The FDA, short for Food and Drug Administration, reviews a medicine for the specific uses proposed for it.
Two offers can name semaglutide but offer different medicines. One may be the FDA-approved brand Wegovy. The other may have been prepared to order at a pharmacy and lack FDA approval.
Ask who made the product and request its exact name.
What an offer needs to explain
Ask for the clinician’s name, the exact medicine, the pharmacy’s name and the full cost before paying.
Then check the names against the public records and the written offer.
Match the ingredient to the name.
Ingredient & brand
Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy)
As of September 26, 2026, Wegovy is approved to help eligible people lose weight and keep it off.
Ozempic is approved to help control blood sugar in adults who have type 2 diabetes. Its injection also has approval to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke for adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The injection is also approved to slow the worsening of kidney disease in adults with type 2 diabetes and long-term kidney disease.
Ingredient & brand
Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound)
Zepbound is approved to help eligible adults lose weight and keep it off, as of September 26, 2026. Mounjaro is approved for blood sugar control in people who have type 2 diabetes. For adults at high risk who have type 2 diabetes, it is also approved to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Ingredient & brand
Liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda)
As of September 26, 2026, Saxenda is approved to help eligible people lose weight and keep it off. Victoza is approved for blood sugar control in people who have type 2 diabetes. For adults with both heart disease and type 2 diabetes, it also has approval to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
As of September 26, 2026, there are also FDA-approved versions of liraglutide called generics. Some are approved for weight loss; others are approved for diabetes. These two kinds cannot be swapped for each other.
These weight-loss approvals cover people in specified weight groups, sometimes with another health problem. They do not cover everyone who wants to lose weight. A prescriber, the health professional who can order medicine, checks whether your age, weight and health meet the product’s approved conditions.
The medicine label is the official product information. It lists the approved uses and who they cover.