Topline
Prescriptions for GLP-1 RA medications such as Mounjaro and Zepbound made up more than 7% of prescriptions in the U.S. as of last month, according to a study from Truveta Research, which investigated rocketing use of weight loss drugs and prescribing trends from 2019 to 2025.
Boxes for the medications Wegovy and Zepbound are arranged for a photograph in California, May 8, 2025.
AP Photo/JoNel Aleccia
Key Facts
Truveta’s study found prescriptions for GLP-1 RAs, which mimic the GLP-1 hormone, accounted for more than 7% of all prescriptions in the U.S. as of December 2025.
Nearly 2.2 million patients were prescribed a GLP-1 RA from January 2019 to December 2025, with nearly 11.2 million total prescriptions made during that time.
Anti-diabetic medications made up 72.7% of the prescriptions, while anti-obesity accounted for 27.3%, among prescriptions where use was known, according to the study.
Prescribing rates for GLP-1 RAs increased 5% from September to December 2025, the study found, though it noted first-time prescribing rates declined 6.6% in that same period.
Tirzepatide, which is sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, is the most prescribed anti-diabetic and anti-obesity medication, experiencing the largest jump in total prescriptions from September to December 2025.
The rate of prescriptions for semaglutide, the medication sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, taken as an anti-diabetic medication was surpassed by Tirzepatide anti-diabetic prescription rates in early 2025.
The study also reviewed dispense trends, finding that from 2019 to 2025, 70.7% of GLP-1 RA prescriptions were dispensed within 60 days of being prescribed to a patient.
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Big Number
$126 billion. That is how much money GLP-1s could generate in sales by 2029, according to a UBS analysis, which forecasts 40 million people on GLP-1s globally by the same year.
Key Background
GLP-1 drugs, which were first designated for diabetes treatment, have become wildly popular in the last few years due to their effectiveness and FDA approval as a weight loss drug. Patient, government programs and insurance companies cranked up their spending on GLP-1s from 2018 to 2023 by more than 500%, from $13.7 billion to $71.7 billion, according to a study from the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adoption of GLP-1s does not seem like it will slow down anytime soon, as the first pill version of a GLP-1 in Novo Nordisk’s weight loss treatment Wegovy was approved by the FDA last month. The once-daily pill can help patients lose as much weight as they would using the injectable version of Wegovy. Eli Lilly, a competitor of Novo Nordisk’s, anticipates its oral GLP-1 pill will receive FDA approval by the second quarter of 2026.
Further Reading
FDA Approves Pill Version Of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy—A First For GLP-1s (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/01/20/weight-loss-drugs-now-account-for-1-in-14-prescriptions-study-says/
