Europe’s First Oral GLP-1 Weight-Loss Pill Approved for Novo Nordisk, Cyberattack Probed
NVO•UK regulators approved Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill for obesity patients with weight-related comorbidities, marking Europe’s first oral GLP-1 weight-loss therapy and private prescriptions to begin within weeks. Since its U.S. launch on January 5, the pill amassed over 3 million prescriptions in five months and is probing a cybersecurity breach.
1. UK Approval of Wegovy Pill
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved Wegovy for adults with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity, making it Europe’s first daily oral GLP-1 therapy for weight management. Private prescriptions are expected to begin within weeks, based on a late-stage trial where patients on semaglutide 25 mg tablets achieved about 14% weight loss versus roughly 2% with placebo after 64 weeks.
2. Strong U.S. Launch Performance
Following FDA approval in December 2025, Novo Nordisk launched Wegovy tablets on January 5, 2026, achieving over 3 million prescriptions in just over five months. This performance ranks among the strongest pharmaceutical launches by prescription volume in recent U.S. history.
3. Investigation of Cybersecurity Incident
Novo Nordisk identified unauthorized access to a limited number of its internal IT systems and immediately initiated an investigation with external cybersecurity experts. The company contacted relevant authorities, took certain systems offline, implemented additional security measures, and is working to restore affected systems securely.
