Semaglutide

What it is claimed to help

These are the uses attached to Semaglutide in research, clinical practice, or marketing. Listing a claim is not endorsing it — tap any of them to see every other compound carrying the same claim.

What the human evidence actually is

Extensive. SUSTAIN, STEP and SELECT programmes: tens of thousands of randomised patients. SELECT showed a 20% reduction in major cardiovascular events in people with obesity and established cardiovascular disease without diabetes. STEP-HFpEF improved symptoms in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. ESSENCE reported resolution of steatohepatitis in MASH. FLOW was stopped early for kidney benefit. An oral 25 mg tablet for weight management (oral Wegovy) was approved on 22 December 2025 — the first GLP-1 pill cleared for weight loss — on the OASIS-4 trial, where adherent participants lost about 16.6% of body weight. This is the opposite of a research peptide: the evidence base is enormous.

How it is supposed to work

Agonist at the GLP-1 receptor: slows gastric emptying, increases glucose-dependent insulin release, suppresses glucagon, and acts on hypothalamic appetite circuits.

Safety

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation are common early. Boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumours seen in rodents. Pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, and rare cases of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy have been reported. Compounded versions have been a recurring source of dosing errors and FDA warnings.

Storage and handling

Lyophilised peptide is generally stored at 2–8 °C, or below −20 °C for long-term storage. Reconstituted in bacteriostatic water (0.9% benzyl alcohol) a solution is typically treated as usable for about 28 days refrigerated, versus roughly 24 hours for plain sterile water, which has no preservative. Add the water slowly down the vial wall and swirl — never shake, which shears peptide chains and foams the solution.