Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide: What's the Difference?

What are they?

• Semaglutide is sold as Wegovy (weight) and Ozempic (diabetes).
• Tirzepatide is sold as Zepbound (weight) and Mounjaro (diabetes).
• Semaglutide acts on 1 hunger signal, called GLP-1. Tirzepatide acts on 2 signals, GLP-1 and GIP.

Which one helps more with weight?

• A big test put 751 adults with obesity (and no diabetes) on one or the other for 72 weeks.
• People on tirzepatide lost about 20.2% of their weight on average. People on semaglutide lost about 13.7%.
• Waists shrank by about 18 cm on tirzepatide and about 13 cm on semaglutide.
• Average means some people lost more and some lost less.

Side effects

• In that test, the most common problems with both were stomach problems, like feeling sick. Most were mild to medium and happened while the dose was going up.
• Both labels have a boxed warning: they caused thyroid tumors in rodents. Nobody knows if this happens in people.

Other approved uses

• Wegovy is also approved to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart death in adults with heart disease and obesity or overweight.
• Zepbound is also approved to treat moderate to severe sleep apnea in adults with obesity.

Which one is right for me?

Only your doctor can say. Things like your health, other medicines, cost, and insurance matter. Copy-made (compounded) versions are not FDA-approved.