In January 2026 the MHRA approved semaglutide (Wegovy) at doses up to 7.2mg per week. It is the highest strength of semaglutide licensed in the UK, and it arrived with a narrower licence than the doses below it.
The most important thing to understand is that 7.2mg is not a starting dose. It sits at the top of an escalation that begins at 0.25mg and climbs roughly every four weeks. Patients reach 2.4mg at around week 17 and only then, if appropriate, move on to 7.2mg.
Who It Is Licensed For
The 7.2mg dose is approved for adults with obesity — a BMI of 30kg/m² or above. That is a tighter restriction than the lower Wegovy doses, which can be prescribed to people with a BMI between 27 and 30 who also have a weight-related health condition.
It is also not licensed for people using semaglutide to reduce cardiovascular risk rather than for weight management. If your prescription exists for that reason, the higher dose is outside its licence.
What the Dose Actually Is
The 7.2mg weekly dose was initially delivered as three separate 2.4mg injections. A single-dose 7.2mg pen was approved separately in April 2026. This matters practically: three injections a week is a different experience, and a different pharmacy supply, from one.
Why This Changes the Price Question
Weight-loss medication has never had one price — it has a price per strength. Every time a new strength is added at the top of the ladder, a new pricing decision is made by every provider, and they do not all make it the same way.
Some UK pharmacies charge a flat monthly rate at every strength. Others charge more as the dose climbs. For someone expecting to escalate, that difference compounds: the provider that looks cheapest at a starting dose can be substantially more expensive across a full course. A new top dose simply extends the ladder, and extends the gap.
This is the reason we price a course of treatment rather than a single month. Comparing the starting dose alone can point you at the wrong pharmacy.
Is It Available on the NHS?
Approval by the MHRA means a medicine can legally be prescribed in the UK. It does not mean the NHS funds it. NHS use follows a separate route through NICE, and at the time of writing the higher dose is a private prescription proposition for most people.
Side Effects at a Higher Dose
The side-effect profile is the familiar one for GLP-1 medicines — nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation are the common complaints — and the general pattern is that gastrointestinal effects are more likely as the dose increases. That is precisely why the escalation is slow and why a prescriber should not jump you to the top of the ladder.
In January 2026 the MHRA also strengthened warnings about the risk of severe acute pancreatitis across GLP-1 medicines. Severe, persistent stomach pain that spreads to the back, with or without vomiting, needs urgent medical attention rather than a wait-and-see.
Should You Ask to Move Up?
The higher dose exists for people who have tolerated 2.4mg and need more. It is not a shortcut, and it is not automatically better. The decision belongs with your prescriber, who should be reviewing how you have responded rather than simply escalating on a schedule.
If you are already planning for the possibility, the useful preparation is financial as well as clinical: check what your provider charges at every strength, not just the one you are on now.