Foundayo daily diabetes and weight-loss pill launches in UK pharmacies
Eli Lilly’s once-daily oral drug Foundayo is becoming available by private prescription in the United Kingdom, offering an alternative for eligible patients who cannot or do not want injectable treatment.
In short
- Eli Lilly’s once-daily oral drug Foundayo is becoming available by private prescription in the United Kingdom, offering an alternative for eligible patients who cannot or do not want injectable treatment.
A once-daily pill designed to improve blood-sugar control and support weight loss is becoming available through selected United Kingdom pharmacies from Monday, August 24, 2026.
The medicine, orforglipron, is sold under the name Foundayo and is made by US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised it earlier in August, making the UK the first European country where the treatment is available.
Foundayo will initially be supplied on private prescription. Eli Lilly says it is also working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is assessing whether the medicine should eventually be offered through England’s National Health Service.
The drug is licensed for adults with a body mass index of at least 30, as well as people with a BMI between 27 and 30 who have at least one weight-related health condition. It may also be used to improve blood-sugar levels in patients whose type 2 diabetes is not adequately controlled. The tablet is taken once a day and does not carry food or water timing restrictions.
The launch gives eligible patients an oral alternative to injectable GLP-1 medicines. Pharmacy representatives said that could widen access for people who cannot or prefer not to use injections.
The rollout also comes with a safety warning. Pharmacists urged patients to obtain weight-loss medicine only from regulated pharmacies because fake, unlicensed and counterfeit GLP-1 products are increasingly being marketed. UK regulators seized unlicensed weight-loss pens and ingredients valued at £250,000 from a Northampton factory in 2025.
Foundayo is the second oral GLP-1 weight-loss treatment authorised in Britain, after regulators approved a tablet version of Wegovy in June 2026.
