Comparing the Two Common GLP-1 Receptor Antagonists, Ozempic and Wegovy: Drugs in the GLP-1 receptor agonist class help control blood sugar levels and are used to treat type 2 diabetes and weight loss.
What is Ozempic and Wegovy?
Ozempic and Wegovy are two of the most widely used medications in this category. Both medications are FDA-approved for use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes because they have been proven to be successful in regulating blood sugar levels. Wegovy is approved for weight loss by the FDA.
GLP-1 targets brain regions that control appetite and food intake. It is essential for controlling blood sugar levels and has been shown to lower blood sugar in those with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia. GLP-1 receptor agonists function by imitating the GLP-1 hormone that is naturally produced by our bodies.
How are they similar?
The main difference between Wegovy and Ozempic is their dose strengths: Ozempic is available in doses of up to 1.0 mg, whereas Wegovy is available in doses of up to 2.4 mg. Wegovy and Ozempic share the same active component because both are once-weekly injectable formulations of semaglutide.
Both Ozempic and Wegovy are delivered once per week by self-injection.
Semaglutide is able to control lower A1C, blood sugar, and treating overweight and obesity since it mimics our natural GLP-1 hormone. GLP-1 is an incretin hormone, which is a class of hormones your body naturally releases in response to food intake.
Wegovy, once-weekly medication that comes in doses of semaglutide 0.25 mg and 2.5mg. By boosting the release of insulin and reducing the synthesis of glucose in the liver, it functions similarly to Ozempic. Wegovy has been proven to be more successful in regulating blood sugar levels despite having a larger dosage than Ozempic.
Usually, the same 0.25 mg weekly dose for each medicine is started, and over the course of several months, it is gradually increased. Patients using Wegovy ramp up to a weekly dose of 2.4 mg of semaglutide, which is a higher sustained dose.
When contrasting Ozempic with Wegovy, it's critical to take each medication's potential adverse effects into account. Both medicines have the potential to produce these side effects. Additionally, especially when taken in conjunction with other diabetes drugs, they may result in low blood sugar levels. Weight loss, a decrease in appetite, and injection site responses are some other Ozempic and Wegovy side effects.
It's worth noting that the medication you might be prescribed is a compounded medication and not related to Novo Nordisk™ company or any brand-name medications such as Saxenda®, Victoza®, Wegovy®, or Ozempic®.
References:
Drucker, D. J. (2017). The biology of incretin hormones. Cell Metabolism, 25(6), 975-990. https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(17)30236-X
Buse, J. B., & Nauck, M. A. (2017). Incretin-based therapies. Diabetes Care, 40(Suppl 2), S123-S130. https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/40/Supplement_2/S123.long
Garber, A. J., & Grunberger, G. (2018). GLP-1 receptor agonists for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 6(2), 119-128. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(17)30371-0/fulltext
Woerle, H. J., & Broedl, U. C. (2017). GLP-1 receptor agonists: an overview of their clinical use. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 19(Suppl 1), 3-15. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dom.13005
