Which GLP-1 Drug Is FDA-Approved for What: Weight, Diabetes, Heart, Kidneys, Sleep Apnea, and Liver

GLP-1 drugs are not interchangeable on paper, even when two brands contain the same medicine. Each one carries an FDA label, the official document that lists the uses the agency approved after reviewing trial data. Each approved use is called an indication. A doctor can still prescribe a drug for something not on its label, which is called off-label use, but insurers and Medicare usually pay according to the label.

The table below lists what each GLP-1 drug sold in the U.S. is approved to treat, based on the Indications and Usage section of each current label on DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine's label database. "Heart-event risk" means the risk of a heart attack, a stroke, or death from heart disease. Tirzepatide, in Zepbound and Mounjaro, also acts on a second hormone receptor called GIP, but it is usually grouped with the GLP-1 drugs.

The pattern is simple once you see it. Wegovy, Zepbound, Foundayo, and Saxenda are the weight-loss brands. Ozempic, Mounjaro, Trulicity, Victoza, and the semaglutide pills are the diabetes brands. The extra uses for the heart, kidneys, sleep apnea, and liver are attached to specific brands, not to the active ingredient.

Novo Nordisk sells semaglutide under four names. Ozempic and the newer Ozempic tablets are for type 2 diabetes, Rybelsus is the original diabetes pill, and Wegovy, as a shot or a pill, is for weight. Eli Lilly does the same with tirzepatide: Mounjaro is the diabetes brand and Zepbound the weight brand. Liraglutide splits into Victoza for diabetes and Saxenda for weight.

The doses and devices also differ between brands, and the pills use different strengths than the shots, so a prescription written for one brand cannot simply be filled with another.

The split matters most for coverage. A health plan may cover Ozempic for someone with type 2 diabetes and refuse Wegovy for someone without it, even though both contain semaglutide. Using the diabetes brand only to lose weight is off-label, and many plans check for a diabetes diagnosis before they pay.

Most of the newer uses came from large trials that measured health events, not only weight or blood sugar.

• Heart, Wegovy: On March 8, 2024, the FDA approved Wegovy to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart-related death in adults with heart disease and overweight or obesity, based on the SELECT trial. The FDA described it as the first treatment approved to lower the risk of serious heart problems specifically in adults with obesity or overweight.
• Sleep apnea, Zepbound: On December 20, 2024, the FDA approved Zepbound for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, the first drug approved for that condition. Obstructive sleep apnea means the airway keeps closing during sleep.
• Kidneys, Ozempic: On January 28, 2025, Ozempic gained an approval to slow kidney decline and lower the risk of kidney failure and heart-related death in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, based on the FLOW trial. Our kidney guide covers it in detail.
• Liver, Wegovy: On August 15, 2025, Wegovy received accelerated approval for MASH, a fatty liver disease with inflammation, in adults with moderate to advanced scarring but not cirrhosis. Accelerated approval means the FDA relied on liver biopsy results and requires a later trial to confirm a real health benefit. See our MASH guide.
• Heart, Mounjaro: In August 2026, Mounjaro's label added a heart-risk indication for adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk, based on the SURPASS-CVOT trial, which compared it with Trulicity.

The pills came in the same period. The FDA approved the Wegovy pill for weight loss on December 22, 2025, and Lilly's Foundayo, a small-molecule pill rather than a peptide, on April 1, 2026. The current Wegovy label gives the pill the same heart indication as the shot, but the shot alone carries the teen and MASH uses.

Most GLP-1 drugs are approved only for adults, and the labels draw the age lines carefully.

For weight loss, the Wegovy shot and Saxenda are approved for teens 12 and older with obesity; Saxenda also requires a body weight above 60 kg (about 132 pounds). The Wegovy pill, Zepbound, and Foundayo are approved for adults only.

For type 2 diabetes, Mounjaro, Victoza, and Trulicity are approved for children 10 and older. Ozempic, the semaglutide pills, and generic exenatide are approved for adults.

No GLP-1 drug is approved for weight loss in children under 12. Novo Nordisk reported in September 2026 that in its STEP Young trial of semaglutide in 165 children aged 6 to under 12, 40.4% on the drug no longer had obesity at week 68, compared with none on placebo, and on October 7, 2026 the World Health Organization advised against weight-loss drugs for children under 10. See our parents' guide to STEP Young.

Coverage is where the indication matters most, because insurers decide by diagnosis.

Medicare Part D, the drug benefit for people 65 and older, cannot cover a drug used only for weight loss; that exclusion is written into the 2003 law that created the benefit. Part D can cover a GLP-1 prescribed for an approved non-weight-loss use. That is why the newer indications changed access: Wegovy for heart risk or MASH, Zepbound for sleep apnea, and Ozempic or Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes can be covered under Part D when a person has the qualifying condition.

For weight loss alone, people on Medicare have a separate route. Since July 1, 2026, the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge has let eligible beneficiaries get Wegovy (shot or pill), Zepbound KwikPen, or Foundayo for a $50 monthly copay through December 31, 2027. Our Medicare Bridge guide explains who qualifies.

Private plans and Medicaid vary. Many employer plans cover diabetes uses but not weight loss, and prior authorization, which means the plan must approve the prescription first, usually asks for the diagnosis that matches the label. Our insurance and prior-authorization guide walks through the rules.

Several drugs in the news are still investigational, meaning no regulator has approved them. Eli Lilly's retatrutide and Novo Nordisk's zenagamtide, formerly amycretin, are in Phase 3 trials. A JAMA news report in October 2026 found both sold online without approval, which carries real risks; see our guide to buying retatrutide online.

Some approved GLP-1 drugs have also been studied for conditions that are not on their labels, such as alcohol use disorder. Until the FDA adds a use to the label, prescribing for it is off-label, and insurance coverage is unlikely.

Two older products have left the market. AstraZeneca discontinued the Bydureon BCise and Byetta brands of exenatide in October 2024, according to a UnitedHealthcare notice, though a generic exenatide from Amneal is still listed on DailyMed.

If you are trying to get a GLP-1 drug covered, start with your diagnosis, not the drug. Type 2 diabetes points toward the diabetes brands. Heart disease with overweight or obesity, moderate to severe sleep apnea, or MASH with liver scarring can open coverage for Wegovy or Zepbound even where weight-loss drugs are excluded.

Questions to ask your clinician:

• Which approved use fits my situation, and is it written on the prescription and prior-authorization form?
• If I have type 2 diabetes, does a diabetes brand cover what I need?
• Do I have a condition, such as sleep apnea or heart disease, that has not been formally diagnosed?
• If my plan denies coverage, which indication should an appeal cite?

Labels change as new trials finish, so check the date on any list, including this one. This guide reflects labels posted on DailyMed as of October 9, 2026.