Coverage hub

GLP-1 Medications

What these drugs are, which two matter, how they can and cannot be delivered, what they really cost, and where enforcement currently stands.

  • 4,114 DaMolecular weight of semaglutide
  • ~500 DaPractical ceiling for passive absorption through intact skin
  • 8×How far past that ceiling semaglutide sits
  • $99–348All-in monthly range at licensed telehealth platforms, mid-2026

What a GLP-1 actually is

Glucagon-like peptide-1 is a hormone your gut releases after eating. It stimulates insulin release, suppresses glucagon, slows stomach emptying, and signals fullness to the brain. The natural hormone breaks down within minutes.

A receptor agonist is a drug engineered to mimic that hormone while lasting far longer in the body. A great many products are marketed using the phrase “GLP-1” without containing one. Anything sold over the counter falls into that second category.

The compounds

The three GLP-1 medications available now

Semaglutide

Sold as Ozempic and Wegovy

  • Class GLP-1 receptor agonist
  • Molecular weight 4,114 Da
  • Trial result −14.9% at 68 weeks (2.4 mg, STEP 1)
  • Delivery Weekly injection; oral tablets exist

Tirzepatide

Sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound

  • Class Dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist
  • Molecular weight 4,813 Da
  • Trial result −20.9% at 72 weeks (15 mg, SURMOUNT-1)
  • Delivery Weekly injection

Orforglipron

Sold as Foundayo

  • Class Oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist — not a peptide
  • Molecular weight 883 Da
  • Trial result −11.2% at 72 weeks (36 mg, ATTAIN-1)
  • Delivery Daily oral tablet

Worth knowing

Size decides the delivery route. Orforglipron is roughly a fifth the weight of semaglutide, which is why it survives the digestive tract as a tablet while the peptides have to be injected.

These come from three separate trials, not head-to-head comparisons, and each figure is a single dose arm. Tirzepatide at its lowest studied dose (5 mg) produced −15.0%, about the same as semaglutide at 2.4 mg. All three trials included lifestyle intervention, individual results varied widely, and weight regain after discontinuation is well documented.

Why the delivery route is not a preference

Molecular weight, to scale

Intact skin passively absorbs small molecules. Dermatology research uses a rough threshold of 500 daltons, above which passive penetration stops being meaningful. Against the drugs that genuinely work as patches, the two GLP-1s are not close.

  • Nicotine (patch)

    ~162 Da

  • Estradiol (patch)

    ~272 Da

  • Fentanyl (patch)

    ~337 Da

  • Practical skin ceiling

    ~500 Da

  • Semaglutide

    ~4,114 Da

  • Tirzepatide

    ~4,813 Da

Bars are drawn to scale against tirzepatide. Molecular weights from PubChem: nicotine, estradiol, fentanyl, semaglutide, tirzepatide. The 500-dalton threshold is a working heuristic in dermatology rather than a physical law, but it holds well enough to guide transdermal drug development (Bos & Meinardi, 2000).

How GLP-1 medications are delivered

  • Evidence-backed

    Weekly injection

    Subcutaneous, with a pen device. This is how the drugs were delivered in the trials that produced the published results. Prescription only.

  • Evidence-backed

    Oral tablet

    Two kinds exist: oral semaglutide, which needs specific timing and an empty stomach because absorption is the engineering problem, and orforglipron, a small molecule built to be swallowed. Effect sizes have generally trailed the injectables. Prescription only.

  • No evidence

    Transdermal patch

    No patch on the market delivers a GLP-1 receptor agonist, and the size gap above explains why. Products sold as “GLP-1 patches” contain herbal extracts and minerals.

What they cost, honestly

Buying direct from the manufacturer now costs $149 to $449 a month depending on medication, form and dose — see what Wegovy and Zepbound cost without insurance. Licensed telehealth platforms run higher, roughly $249 to $598 all-in, because a membership fee is billed on top of the medication. Annual prepayment lands near the bottom of that range; month-to-month near the top.

Advertised prices frequently exclude the medication. A platform quoting a low monthly figure may be quoting a membership fee, with the drug billed separately — and the real total can be several times the headline. A cheaper compounded version carries a different set of trade-offs again.

Ask before you sign up

  • Is the membership fee separate from the medication cost?
  • Is the advertised rate a first-month promotional price?
  • Are labs, shipping, and dose escalations included?
  • What happens to the price when the dose increases?
  • What is the total twelve-month cost at a maintenance dose?

Where enforcement stands

This is the most actively enforced corner of the peptide market. Once the FDA declared the semaglutide and tirzepatide shortages resolved, the compounding exemptions that had permitted widespread production lapsed, and enforcement followed. Some pharmacy compounding continues under specific conditions.

Sellers marketing GLP-1 copies as “research use only” have drawn warning letters, with the agency holding that the disclaimer does not apply where the surrounding marketing describes weight loss or appetite suppression. We log each action as it is published.

Regulatory tracker →

Sources

What this page will not tell you

Our scope

Whether a GLP-1 is appropriate for you is a question for a prescribing clinician. We do not employ any.

You will not find dosing information, titration schedules, or administration instructions here, and you will not find an assessment of whether you personally are a candidate.

Approved labeling lists contraindications and cautions — including personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN2, prior pancreatitis, pregnancy, a history of eating disorders, significant gastrointestinal disease, and type 1 diabetes — and a provider will screen for them.

Are GLP-1 supplements real? →   What providers charge →   How we source and verify →