What Is Foundayo (Orforglipron) in the UK?

What is orforglipron?

It is the brand name of a tablet. Orforglipron is the medicine inside it. Many people ask about the Foundayo meaning because the name is new. It is the name Eli Lilly chose for the tablet. Searches for Foundayo and orforglipron lead to the same tablet.

Who makes Foundayo? Eli Lilly does. What is in Foundayo? The active ingredient is orforglipron.

What is Foundayo used for?

It is licensed for two things:

• Weight management in adults, alongside a reduced calorie diet and more physical activity.
• Type 2 diabetes in some adults, to help control blood sugar.

What type of drug is Foundayo?

It is a once daily oral GLP-1 receptor agonist. That is a long name, so here is what it means:

• GLP-1 is a hormone your gut makes after you eat. It tells your brain you are full.
• A receptor agonist switches on the same receptor as that hormone.
• Oral means you swallow it as a tablet.

Is Foundayo a GLP-1?

Yes. It is also a non peptide small molecule. Some other GLP-1 pills are peptides and must be taken with strict food and water rules. Orforglipron is a small molecule, which is why Foundayo has no such rules. This is its main difference.

Foundayo pill: how it is taken

The Foundayo pill is a film coated tablet. You take one tablet a day. Is Foundayo a pill? Yes. Is Foundayo an injection? No. A Foundayo tablet has no needles.

• Take it at any time of day.
• Take it with or without food. You do not need to measure water.
• Swallow it whole. Do not chew, split or crush it.
• Do not take more than one tablet in a day to get a higher dose.
• If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. Never take more than one tablet in a day.

You start on 0.8 mg once a day. Your prescriber may raise the dose in steps, no sooner than every 30 days. The highest dose is 17.2 mg a day. For every dose step, read our Foundayo Q&A.

How does Foundayo work?

What does Foundayo do? It is an oral GLP-1 weight loss pill. Orforglipron acts on the GLP-1 receptor in your body. This does three main things:

• It tells your brain you are full, so you may feel less hungry.
• It slows how fast your stomach empties, so you stay full for longer.
• It helps your body control blood sugar after meals.

Together, this can make it easier to eat less. That is how Foundayo works for weight loss. The tablet does not replace healthy eating and activity. It is used alongside them. Foundayo works on GLP-1 only. It is not the same as Mounjaro, which contains tirzepatide and also acts on a second hormone called GIP.

What the ATTAIN-1 trial found

ATTAIN-1 was a large trial of 3,127 adults with obesity who did not have diabetes. It lasted 72 weeks. Everyone also had help with diet and activity. People on the highest dose lost 11.2% of their body weight on average. People given a placebo lost 2.1%. A placebo is a lookalike treatment with no active medicine.

These are group averages, not a promise for one person. Some people lose more and some lose less. The trial used capsules, and UK tablets have different milligram numbers. The 36 mg trial capsule matches the 17.2 mg tablet. Some websites quote 12.4%. That figure only counts people who stayed on treatment, so it looks higher.

What are the benefits of Foundayo?

Foundayo has four main benefits for adults who are suitable for it.

• It helped people lose weight in a large trial. In ATTAIN-1, people on the highest dose lost 11.2% of their body weight on average over 72 weeks. People on placebo lost 2.1%. Results vary from person to person.
• It is a tablet, not an injection. If you find needles hard, a tablet may be easier for you. You still need to remember to take it every day.
• It has no food or water rules. You can take it at any time of day, with or without food. This makes it easier to fit into your day than a pill with fasting rules.
• It can also help with type 2 diabetes. Foundayo is licensed for some adults whose type 2 diabetes is not well controlled. It helps the body control blood sugar.

The benefits depend on why Foundayo is prescribed. It works best alongside a reduced calorie diet and more physical activity. It also has side effects, so read the side effects section below. A prescriber can tell you if the benefits are right for you.

Who can take Foundayo?

For weight management, Foundayo is licensed for adults aged 18 and over with:

• a BMI of 30 or more, or
• a BMI of 27 to under 30 and at least one weight related health condition, such as high blood pressure.

A prescriber must check if Foundayo is right for you. BMI is only one check. Not sure of your BMI? Use our BMI calculator.

Foundayo is also licensed for adults whose type 2 diabetes is not well controlled, alongside diet and exercise. It is not for anyone under 18.

Tell your prescriber before you start if:

• you are allergic to orforglipron or any other ingredient in the tablet
• you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding
• you have severe liver problems, as Foundayo is not recommended
• you take insulin or a sulphonylurea, which can raise the risk of low blood sugar
• you take any other medicines, including St John's wort

Is Foundayo available in the UK?

Yes, on private prescription. What does the timeline look like?

• 10 August 2026: The MHRA approved Foundayo in the UK. The UK was the first country in Europe to approve it.
• 24 August 2026: Foundayo became available in UK pharmacies on private prescription.
• Now: It is not available on the NHS.
• 18 November 2026: NICE is due to publish its decision on NHS use in England.

Is Foundayo licensed in the UK?

Yes, for the two uses above. People also ask when will Foundayo be available in UK pharmacies. It already is, so the orforglipron weight loss pill UK launch has happened. Approval does not mean NHS funding, and it does not mean every pharmacy has stock.

Stock, prices and what is included, such as the consultation and delivery, differ between providers. We do not quote a price on this page. We will add checked prices to our Foundayo price page when we have them.

Foundayo side effects

Foundayo oral GLP-1 side effects are mostly stomach problems. They are more likely when the dose goes up. These come from the UK product information.

• Very common (more than 1 in 10 people): feeling sick, being sick, constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion and stomach pain.
• Common (up to 1 in 10 people): dizziness, headache, a fast heartbeat, low blood pressure, bloating, wind, reflux, gallstones, hair loss and tiredness.
• Uncommon (up to 1 in 100 people): acute pancreatitis, which is swelling of the pancreas.

Get urgent medical help if you have severe stomach pain that does not go away. If you take insulin or a sulphonylurea, low blood sugar is also very common, so your prescriber may change those doses.

Safety notes

• Contraception: Foundayo may make the oral contraceptive pill less effective. Use a non oral method, or add a barrier method, for 30 days after you start and after each dose increase.
• Pregnancy: Do not use Foundayo in pregnancy or while breastfeeding. Stop it at least 3 weeks before a planned pregnancy.
• Other medicines: Some medicines change how much orforglipron is in your body. Always tell your prescriber about every medicine you take.

You can report a suspected side effect to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

For more detail, read our Foundayo Q&A.

Foundayo and the Wegovy pill

Foundayo and the Wegovy pill are different medicines. Foundayo contains orforglipron. The Wegovy pill contains semaglutide. Both are once daily pills for weight loss.

The main practical difference is food and water. Foundayo has no food or water rules. The Wegovy pill has fasting instructions. The two pills were tested in different trials with different people. So we do not rank one above the other from their headline results. A prescriber can help you choose.

Read our Wegovy pill guide.

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