Semaglutide Dosing: What the Labels and Trials Specify
Semaglutide has been approved since 2017 and carries several different dose schedules depending on the brand and the indication, which is the main reason people get confused looking it up. This page reports what the FDA-approved prescribing information specifies and what the registered trials administered, with sources.
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist. Unlike tirzepatide and retatrutide it acts on that one receptor only, and its dose ladder runs an order of magnitude lower as a result — milligrams here are not comparable to milligrams there.
Semaglutide dose escalation, by product
Wegovy injection (chronic weight management), week by week:
| Weeks | Dose |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | 0.25mg weekly |
| 5–8 | 0.5mg weekly |
| 9–12 | 1mg weekly |
| 13–16 | 1.7mg weekly |
| 17 onward | 2.4mg weekly (maintenance; 1.7mg is also a maintenance option) |
Ozempic (type 2 diabetes): 0.25mg weekly for 4 weeks, then 0.5mg for at least 4 weeks, then 1mg and 2mg if further glycemic control is needed. The maximum is 2mg weekly — notably lower than the weight-management ceiling.
Oral semaglutide tablets: 1.5mg daily for days 1–30, 4mg for days 31–60, 9mg for days 61–90, then 25mg daily as maintenance.
The 7.2mg high dose
On 19 March 2026 the FDA approved Wegovy HD at 7.2mg weekly for adults with obesity who have tolerated the 2.4mg dose for at least four weeks and need further weight reduction. In the STEP UP trial over 72 weeks it produced roughly 21% mean weight loss among those who stayed on treatment, about 19% regardless of adherence, with roughly a third of participants reaching 25% or more.
That approval effectively tripled the top of the semaglutide ladder, and it is the single biggest change to semaglutide dosing in several years.
Results by dose
STEP 1, 68 weeks, at 2.4mg weekly: mean body weight change of −14.9% against −2.4% on placebo, with 86.4% of participants reaching at least 5% reduction.
STEP UP, 72 weeks, at 7.2mg weekly: approximately 19–21% mean weight reduction, as above.
SURMOUNT-5, 72 weeks, the head-to-head against tirzepatide: semaglutide at 1.7mg or 2.4mg produced −13.7%, against −20.2% for tirzepatide at 10mg or 15mg.
Why the escalation exists
Gastrointestinal adverse events — nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation — are the most commonly reported across the trial programme and are dose-dependent. Every approved schedule holds each step for four weeks before increasing, and the 7.2mg approval explicitly requires four weeks of tolerated 2.4mg first.
Is semaglutide FDA approved?
Yes, across several products and indications. Ozempic is approved for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes, for reducing major adverse cardiovascular events in established cardiovascular disease, and for slowing kidney function decline in chronic kidney disease. Wegovy is approved for chronic weight management in adults and in patients aged 12 and over, for cardiovascular risk reduction, and for noncirrhotic MASH with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. Oral tablets are approved separately.
Material supplied by MyGLP1Store is none of those products. It is semaglutide supplied for laboratory research use only, with no approved label attaching to it.
Why this is not a dosing protocol
Every figure on this page describes either an approved prescribing schedule for a prescription medicine or what a clinical trial administered to screened participants under medical supervision, with escalation rules, monitoring and predefined withdrawal criteria. None of it constitutes a recommendation. Material supplied by MyGLP1Store is for laboratory research use only and is not for human consumption.
Semaglutide Dosing — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the semaglutide dose ladder?
For Wegovy injection: 0.25mg weekly for four weeks, then 0.5mg, 1mg and 1.7mg at four-week intervals, reaching 2.4mg from week 17. A 7.2mg dose was approved in March 2026 for those who have tolerated 2.4mg for at least four weeks.
What is the maximum semaglutide dose?
7.2mg weekly for weight management since the March 2026 Wegovy HD approval. Ozempic, for type 2 diabetes, tops out at 2mg weekly.
How often is semaglutide administered?
Once weekly by subcutaneous injection. Oral semaglutide is taken daily instead.
Why is the semaglutide dose so much lower than tirzepatide?
They are different molecules with different potencies. Semaglutide maintenance runs 1.7–7.2mg weekly against 5–15mg for tirzepatide, so milligram comparisons between the two mean very little.
Is semaglutide FDA approved?
Yes — as Ozempic, Wegovy and oral tablets, across diabetes, weight management, cardiovascular risk, chronic kidney disease and MASH indications. Material supplied here is not those products and is for laboratory research use only.
Further reading
- Semaglutide cost — price per vial, per mg and per month.
- Semaglutide (SEMA) — single vials, 5mg to 15mg.
- Bulk semaglutide — wholesale kits of 10 vials.
- Tirzepatide dosing — the dual agonist schedule.
- Retatrutide dosing — the triple agonist, still investigational.