Eli Lilly GLP-1 Drugs and the Lilly GLP-1 Pill (October 2026)

01 · The core answer

Which Eli Lilly GLP-1 medicine is relevant to you?

Mounjaro suits people who are comfortable with one injection a week, while Foundayo suits those who prefer a daily tablet. Mounjaro is a once-weekly injectable prescription medicine made by Eli Lilly, licensed in the UK for weight management in adults and for type 2 diabetes.¹ Foundayo contains orforglipron, a once-daily GLP-1 tablet made by the same company.²¹

No trial has compared Mounjaro directly with either tablet, so results from separate trials, with different people, durations and doses, should not be set against each other as if head to head.¹⁵ A prescriber checks which option is suitable for your health, your other medicines and your routine.

02 · What to do next

What to do next

If you want the injection, see the Mounjaro pen prices and consultation; a first 2.5mg pen costs £129.99 with code FIRST40 (standard price £169.99). For stock and genuine supply, see our guide to Eli Lilly Mounjaro stock. If a tablet appeals, compare options on the weight loss clinic page, or read the plain-English guide to the Eli Lilly pill for weight loss.

03 · Foundayo: the Lilly pill

Foundayo (orforglipron): the Eli Lilly GLP-1 pill

Foundayo is the Eli Lilly oral GLP-1 tablet, and unlike Wegovy tablets it can be taken at any time of day, with or without food and without water restrictions; the tablet is swallowed whole.²¹ It is licensed for weight management in adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 to under 30 with at least one weight-related condition, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity.²¹

Treatment starts at 0.8mg once daily, then steps up to 2.5mg and 5.5mg, and then to 9mg, 14.5mg or 17.2mg depending on response and tolerability, with at least 30 days at each dose; 17.2mg once daily is the maximum.²¹ If a dose is missed, take it as soon as possible, but never more than one tablet a day.²¹

Foundayo may make oral contraceptive pills less effective: switch to a non-oral method or add a barrier method for 30 days after starting and for 30 days after each dose increase.²¹ See current prices on the Foundayo product page.

04 · What the trial showed

What the Foundayo trial showed

In the ATTAIN-1 trial of 3,127 adults without type 2 diabetes, people taking the highest dose of orforglipron for 72 weeks lost on average 12.4% of their body weight, compared with 0.9% on placebo; the two lower doses gave 7.8% and 9.3%.²³ The trial used capsules, and the UK 17.2mg tablet corresponds to the highest trial dose, so the tablet and capsule doses are not comparable milligram for milligram.²³

The most common side effects are digestive: nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, indigestion and stomach pain.²³ Individual results vary, and these are trial averages, not a prediction of your own result.

05 · Mounjaro: the Lilly injection

Mounjaro: Eli Lilly's injectable GLP-1 drug

Tirzepatide is the first treatment of its kind to activate two natural gut-hormone receptors at once: GIP and GLP-1.¹ Together these help regulate appetite, slow how quickly the stomach empties, and improve the way the body responds to insulin.¹ It comes as a pre-filled multi-dose pen in six strengths: 2.5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 12.5mg and 15mg.¹

In SURMOUNT-1, people taking tirzepatide alongside diet and exercise lost on average 15% of their body weight on 5mg, 19.5% on 10mg and 20.9% on 15mg over 72 weeks, compared with 3.1% with lifestyle changes alone.² Individual results vary. The head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial found 20.2% average loss on tirzepatide versus 13.7% on Wegovy injections over 72 weeks.¹⁵

Mounjaro is available on the NHS, but access is being phased in over several years, with the primary-care rollout starting in June 2025 with the highest-need groups first.⁴ Many people choose regulated private treatment; see the Eli Lilly Mounjaro price page or the price increase explained.

06 · Is there a Mounjaro pill?

Is there a Mounjaro pill?

There is no tablet form of Mounjaro; tirzepatide is injection-only in the UK.¹ Two GLP-1 weight-loss tablets are now licensed in the UK: Wegovy tablets (oral semaglutide, made by Novo Nordisk) and Foundayo (orforglipron, made by Eli Lilly). They are different medicines from Mounjaro, with their own dosing, eligibility checks and trial results, and both are prescription-only.²⁰²¹ Our page on the Eli Lilly Mounjaro pill covers the confusion in more depth.

07 · Buying safely

Buying Lilly GLP-1 medicines safely

You cannot buy tirzepatide directly from Eli Lilly as a patient; genuine UK stock is supplied through Lilly's official distribution to licensed pharmacies, and every pen carries a batch number and expiry date that can be checked.

The MHRA has seized thousands of fake weight-loss pens in the UK and has issued alerts after falsified Mounjaro pens were identified.⁷ Fake pens have caused hospitalisations, and some contained insulin rather than tirzepatide.⁷ Only buy from a pharmacy you can verify on the GPhC register; ours is GPhC 9012878. We use official LillyDirect supply and offer free next-day tracked delivery, with same-day dispatch when ordered by 3pm.