Foundayo (Orforglipron): What It Is and How It Works
The first GLP-1 tablet licensed in Europe for weight management—what orforglipron is, how it works in the body, who it's licensed for, and what the ATTAIN-1 trial actually showed.
Part of the Overweight and Obesity condition guide.
The headline: Foundayo was authorised by the MHRA on 10 August 2026, making the UK the first country in Europe to license an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist for both weight management and type 2 diabetes. Unlike oral semaglutide, it can be taken at any time of day, with or without food.
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Order Foundayo →Key facts at a glance
Foundayo is the brand name for orforglipron, a once-daily tablet licensed in the UK for weight management and for type 2 diabetes. It's the first GLP-1 receptor agonist in pill form to be authorised in Europe—until now, medicines in this class have been injections.
| Foundayo | |
|---|---|
| Generic name | Orforglipron |
| Drug class | GLP-1 receptor agonist (small-molecule, non-peptide) |
| Form | Film-coated tablet, taken once daily |
| UK authorisation | MHRA, 10 August 2026 |
| Licensed for | Weight management; type 2 diabetes |
| Tablet strengths | 0.8, 2.5, 5.5, 9, 14.5 and 17.2 mg |
| Food and water rules | None—any time of day, with or without food |
| NHS availability | Not currently available on the NHS |
| Manufacturer | Eli Lilly |
Foundayo is a prescription-only medicine. It can only be supplied against a prescription from a registered prescriber, following a clinical assessment. This page is general information about the medicine and isn't a recommendation to use it.
What is Foundayo?
Foundayo contains orforglipron, a small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, is a hormone your gut releases after you eat. It helps signal fullness to the brain, slows how quickly the stomach empties, and prompts the pancreas to release insulin when blood sugar is high.
Medicines that mimic GLP-1 have been available in the UK for some years, but almost all of them are peptides—fragile molecules broken down in the digestive tract, which is why they've had to be injected. Orforglipron is chemically different. It's a small non-peptide molecule that survives digestion, so it can be taken as an ordinary tablet.
That chemistry has one practical consequence worth noting. Unlike oral semaglutide, which must be taken on an empty stomach with a strict water allowance and a waiting period before eating, Foundayo can be taken at any time of day, with or without food.
What Foundayo isn't
- It isn't a supplement, a fat burner, or anything available over the counter.
- It isn't a substitute for changes to diet and physical activity. Its UK licence is explicitly for use alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
- It isn't a short-term treatment. Like other medicines for weight management, its effect depends on continued use, and weight regain after stopping is common across this drug class.
How orforglipron works in the body
Orforglipron activates the GLP-1 receptor, producing three effects that together reduce how much you eat.
1
Reduced appetite
Signalling in the brain's appetite centres lowers hunger and the drive to eat between meals.
2
Increased satiety
You feel full sooner during a meal, and stay full for longer afterwards.
3
Slower gastric emptying
Food leaves the stomach more slowly, prolonging the sensation of fullness.
In type 2 diabetes, a fourth effect matters: GLP-1 receptor agonists increase insulin release in a glucose-dependent way, meaning they act when blood sugar is high and largely stand down when it isn't. On its own this makes hypoglycaemia unlikely, though the risk rises considerably when the medicine is combined with insulin or a sulfonylurea.
The slowed gastric emptying is also the mechanism behind most of the side effects—nausea, constipation, reflux—and behind some of the important drug interactions, including reduced absorption of oral contraceptives. These are covered in the Foundayo side effects and safety guide.
Who it's licensed for
The MHRA authorisation covers two separate indications.
For weight management
Adults with:
- a BMI of 30 kg/m² or above (obesity), or
- a BMI of 27 to under 30 kg/m² (overweight) with at least one weight-related health condition—for example type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnoea or PCOS
used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
For type 2 diabetes
Adults with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar isn't adequately controlled, to improve glycaemic control.
BMI thresholds are a starting point for a conversation, not an entitlement. A prescriber will also assess your medical history, current medicines, mental health, and whether a GLP-1 is clinically appropriate for you at all. Some people who meet the BMI criteria shouldn't take this medicine—see who should not take Foundayo.
What does the evidence show?
Orforglipron was studied in the ATTAIN programme for weight management and the ACHIEVE programme for type 2 diabetes.
ATTAIN-1 (weight management)
ATTAIN-1 was a 72-week, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 3,127 adults with obesity, or overweight with a weight-related condition, but without diabetes, across 10 countries. Participants received orforglipron or placebo alongside lifestyle support.
−11.1%
Average weight change on the highest dose at 72 weeks (treatment-policy estimand)
−2.1%
Average weight change on placebo over the same period
71.5%
Lost at least 5% of body weight, versus 26.8% on placebo
Eli Lilly has separately reported an average of −12.4% on the highest dose using the efficacy estimand, which estimates the effect in people who stay on treatment as intended. Both figures describe the same trial; they answer slightly different questions. The lower figure is the better guide to what happens across a real-world population.
Improvements were also seen in waist circumference, non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure and hsCRP, an inflammatory marker.
What the numbers mean in context
An average isn't a prediction. In ATTAIN-1, roughly a fifth of people on the highest dose lost 20% or more of their body weight, while a substantial minority lost less than 5%. Response to GLP-1 medicines varies widely between individuals, and there's currently no reliable way to predict in advance which group you'll fall into.
For comparison, injectable GLP-1 and dual-agonist medicines have generally produced larger average weight reductions in their own trials. Trials aren't directly comparable when they enrol different populations and run for different lengths of time, but it's fair to say that Foundayo's advantage is the route of administration rather than a greater effect size.
ACHIEVE (type 2 diabetes)
In the diabetes trials, the highest dose reduced HbA1c by 1.7 percentage points versus 0.4 on placebo. A separate trial reported greater weight loss than oral semaglutide in people with type 2 diabetes.
What taking it involves
Foundayo is a once-daily tablet, swallowed whole, at any time of day, with or without food. Treatment starts at a low dose and increases in steps of at least 30 days to reduce side effects.
| Step | Dose | Minimum time at this dose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.8 mg once daily | 30 days |
| 2 | 2.5 mg once daily | 30 days |
| 3 | 5.5 mg once daily | 30 days |
| 4 | 9 mg once daily | 30 days |
| 5 | 14.5 mg once daily | 30 days |
| 6 | 17.2 mg once daily | Maintenance |
Maintenance doses range from 5.5 mg up to a maximum of 17.2 mg once daily, and reaching the top of the scale isn't the goal of treatment. Full detail is in the Foundayo dosage and titration guide.
The safety picture in brief
Most people taking Foundayo experience some side effects, and for most they're digestive, manageable, and worst in the days after a dose increase. In ATTAIN-1, nausea affected 35% of people on the highest dose compared with 10% on placebo, and around 10% stopped treatment because of side effects compared with under 3% on placebo.
Foundayo must not be used if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2), or a serious hypersensitivity to orforglipron. It shouldn't be taken alongside another GLP-1 receptor agonist, and it isn't for use in pregnancy.
There's also an easily missed point about anaesthesia: delayed stomach emptying increases the risk of pulmonary aspiration during general anaesthesia or deep sedation, even after normal fasting. Tell any surgeon, anaesthetist, endoscopist or dentist that you're taking Foundayo, well before any planned procedure. The full picture, including drug interactions and contraception advice, is in the side effects and safety guide.
NHS or private: where Foundayo sits
Foundayo isn't currently funded by the NHS. MHRA authorisation confirms that a medicine is safe, effective and of suitable quality; NHS funding is a separate decision made by NICE, and no appraisal has concluded. Access is through private prescription only.
The NICE timeline, what determines the cost of private treatment, and how to check a seller is legitimate are covered in full in is Foundayo available on the NHS?. If you want to see the treatments Access Doctor can supply and how the consultation works, that's on the weight loss treatment page.
Where it sits among the alternatives
Foundayo is one of several licensed routes to medically supported weight loss in the UK, and it isn't automatically the strongest one.
| Medicine | Form | Typical trial weight loss | On the NHS? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundayo (orforglipron) | Daily tablet | ~11–12% at 17.2 mg over 72 weeks | No |
| Wegovy tablets (oral semaglutide 25 mg) | Daily tablet | ~14–17% over 64 weeks | No |
| Mounjaro (tirzepatide) | Weekly injection | ~21–22.5% at 15 mg over 72 weeks | Yes, phased under NICE TA1026 |
| Saxenda (liraglutide) | Daily injection | ~8% over 56 weeks | Limited specialist access |
These are separate trials in different populations and can't be compared head to head, but the direction of travel is consistent: the tablets trade some average effectiveness for convenience. For a fuller comparison see Foundayo vs the Wegovy pill, Foundayo vs Mounjaro, and our overview of prescription weight loss options in the UK.
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Order Foundayo →Frequently Asked Questions
Is orforglipron the same as semaglutide or tirzepatide?
No. They are three different molecules. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are peptides given by injection, and tirzepatide acts on the GIP receptor as well as the GLP-1 receptor. Orforglipron is a small non-peptide molecule that survives digestion, which is why it can be given as a tablet. All three act on the GLP-1 receptor, and none of them should be taken alongside another GLP-1 receptor agonist.
Is Foundayo the first weight loss pill?
It is the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist authorised in Europe. Other tablet treatments for weight management, such as orlistat, work by an entirely different mechanism. Oral semaglutide also exists in tablet form, but the Rybelsus brand is licensed in the UK for type 2 diabetes rather than weight management, while Wegovy tablets are licensed for weight management.
How long do you take Foundayo for?
Obesity is managed as a long-term condition. The main trial ran for 72 weeks, and evidence across the GLP-1 class shows that weight is commonly regained after treatment stops. How long you stay on treatment is a decision for you and your prescriber to review regularly rather than something fixed at the start.
Does Foundayo work without diet and exercise?
The licence specifies use alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and every participant in the clinical trials received lifestyle support as well as the medicine. The published results describe the combination of medicine and lifestyle change, not the drug on its own.
Is Foundayo a prescription-only medicine?
Yes. Foundayo is a Prescription Only Medicine, so it can only be supplied by a registered pharmacy against a valid prescription issued after a clinical assessment. The MHRA has warned that obtaining GLP-1 medicines from unregulated sellers carries serious health risks, because products from those sources may be counterfeit, incorrectly dosed or contaminated.
How much weight can you lose on Foundayo?
In the ATTAIN-1 trial, adults taking the highest dose alongside lifestyle support lost an average of 11.1% of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared with 2.1% on placebo, using the more conservative treatment-policy analysis. The manufacturer reports an average of 12.4% among people who stayed on treatment as intended. Individual results vary widely, and an average is not a prediction of what any one person will achieve.
Where Access Doctor fits
Access Doctor is a GPhC-registered UK online pharmacy supplying licensed weight management medicines by private prescription. The consultation is free and reviewed by a pharmacist independent prescriber, and there's no obligation to order if the treatment isn't right for you. If it's appropriate, your medicine is dispensed from our UK pharmacy in original sealed packaging and delivered discreetly, with clinical support available once you've started.
Weight Loss · Rx
Foundayo (Orforglipron)
Once-daily GLP-1 tablet, no food or water restrictions. Free online consultation included.
View product →Weight Loss · Rx
Wegovy Tablets
Once-daily oral semaglutide, taken fasted each morning. The other licensed GLP-1 tablet.
View product →You can also browse all of our weight loss treatments to compare tablets and injections side by side.
References
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. UK first in Europe to authorise orforglipron for weight management and type 2 diabetes. 10 August 2026. gov.uk
- US Food and Drug Administration. FOUNDAYO (orforglipron) tablets — Prescribing Information. 2026. accessdata.fda.gov
- Eli Lilly and Company. Complete ATTAIN-1 results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 2026. lilly.gcs-web.com
- The Pharmaceutical Journal. MHRA approves orforglipron weight-loss pill. 2026. pharmaceutical-journal.com
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Obesity: identification, assessment and management (CG189). nice.org.uk
Medical disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment. In a medical emergency, call 999.