Foundayo is Eli Lilly's brand name for orforglipron, a once-daily GLP-1 tablet the MHRA licensed for weight management on 10 August 2026. You can take it at any time of day, with or without food or water. It starts at 0.8 mg and steps up no faster than every 30 days, to a maximum of 17.2 mg. It has been on private prescription since 24 August 2026 but isn't on the NHS: NICE now expects to publish its guidance on 27 January 2027.
General information and news, not medical advice or an advert. Foundayo is a prescription-only medicine, and whether it suits you is a decision for a qualified prescriber.
Updated 9 October 2026. Foundayo went on sale on private prescription on 24 August 2026. NICE couldn't reach a decision at its first meeting in July and asked Lilly for more evidence. Its second meeting is on 10 November 2026, and it now expects to publish guidance on 27 January 2027 (NICE).
What Foundayo is
Foundayo is Eli Lilly's brand name for orforglipron, a GLP-1 medicine you swallow once a day. Like Mounjaro and Wegovy, it acts on the GLP-1 receptor, which helps you feel full sooner and think about food less. Unlike them, it isn't a peptide. It's a small molecule, which is the technical reason it survives your stomach and works as a tablet without the fasting rules the Wegovy pill needs.
It's a single GLP-1 agonist. Mounjaro works on two receptors (GLP-1 and GIP), and retatrutide, which is still in trials, works on three. The MHRA licensed Foundayo on 10 August 2026, four months after the US approval, and said the UK was the first country in Europe to approve it (MHRA).
Is it called Foundation?
No, though it's an easy slip. The brand is Foundayo, spelled F-O-U-N-D-A-Y-O. If someone has told you about "the foundation pill", they almost certainly meant Foundayo.
How to take Foundayo
This is the part people coming from the Wegovy pill notice first. The UK label says Foundayo is taken once a day "at any time of day, without food or water restriction", swallowed whole (UK SmPC, section 4.2). No fasting, no waiting before breakfast, and your morning coffee can stay where it is.
From the UK label
How to take Foundayo
Any time of day
Morning, afternoon or evening. Picking a time you'll remember makes it easier to keep up.
With or without food or water
There are no food or drink rules, unlike the Wegovy pill.
Swallow it whole
Don't break, crush or chew the tablet.
Missed a dose
Take it as soon as you can, but never more than one tablet in a day.
Foundayo doses: 0.8 mg to 17.2 mg
You start low and step up, so your stomach has time to get used to it. Each step lasts at least 30 days (UK SmPC, section 4.2):
| Step | How long | Daily dose |
|---|---|---|
| Starting dose | At least 30 days | 0.8 mg |
| Step 2 | At least 30 days | 2.5 mg |
| Step 3 | At least 30 days | 5.5 mg |
| If your prescriber steps you up | At least 30 days | 9 mg |
| If your prescriber steps you up | At least 30 days | 14.5 mg |
| The maximum | 17.2 mg |
From the UK label (SmPC)
Foundayo, step by step
One tablet a day. The steps are drawn evenly, not to scale.
| Dose | How long | Maintenance dose on the label |
|---|---|---|
| 0.8 mg | 30+ days | No |
| 2.5 mg | 30+ days | No |
| 5.5 mg | 30+ days | No |
| 9 mg | 30+ days | No |
| 14.5 mg | 30+ days | No |
| 17.2 mg | maximum | No |
From 5.5 mg, going higher happens one level at a time (9 mg, then 14.5 mg, then 17.2 mg), and depends on how well it's working and how you're feeling. The label doesn't name a single "maintenance" dose, and 17.2 mg is the most anyone takes in a day. It's always one tablet a day, never two smaller tablets to make a bigger dose. Some other medicines cap the dose lower (see "Before you start" below). Packs come in 30 or 90 tablets, though not every pack size may be on sale.
How well it works
The main weight-loss trial, ATTAIN-1, followed 3,127 adults with obesity or overweight (without diabetes) for 72 weeks (ATTAIN-1, NEJM 2025). It used an earlier capsule form of the medicine at 6, 12 and 36 mg. The UK label says these match today's 5.5, 9 and 17.2 mg tablets, and that capsules and tablets aren't interchangeable milligram for milligram (UK SmPC, section 5.1).
Counting everyone who started, including people who stopped, the top dose averaged 11.2% weight loss at 72 weeks, against 2.1% on placebo. That's the trial's main result. The UK label's table uses a different analysis, which estimates what would happen if everyone kept taking it: 12.4% on the top dose, 9.3% on 9 mg and 7.8% on 5.5 mg, against 0.9% on placebo. Both are real numbers answering different questions.
Published trial data
How many people lost 10%, 15% and 20% or more
ATTAIN-1, after 72 weeks: the top dose against placebo
- Foundayo, top dose
- Placebo
| Trial group | Share of people |
|---|---|
| Lost 10% or more, Foundayo | 54.6% |
| Lost 10% or more, placebo | 12.9% |
| Lost 15% or more, Foundayo | 36.0% |
| Lost 15% or more, placebo | 5.9% |
| Lost 20% or more, Foundayo | 18.4% |
| Lost 20% or more, placebo | 2.8% |
In people with type 2 diabetes, who usually lose less weight on these medicines, the top dose averaged 9.6% against 2.5% on placebo (ATTAIN-2, The Lancet 2026). For context, the Wegovy pill averaged 13.6% in its main trial and Mounjaro 20.9% at its top dose. Those are separate trials with different people, so treat them as a rough guide, not a scoreboard.
Foundayo side effects
Like the injections, Foundayo's common side effects are in the stomach and gut, and they're most likely after starting and after each step up. The UK label lists these (UK SmPC, section 4.8):
- Very common, affecting more than 1 in 10 people: feeling sick, constipation, diarrhoea, being sick, indigestion and stomach pain.
- Common, affecting up to 1 in 10: dizziness, headache, a faster heartbeat, low blood pressure, bloating, burping, reflux, wind, gallstones, hair loss and tiredness.
- Uncommon: pancreatitis, a change in taste and odd skin sensations such as tingling.
- For people with diabetes, low blood sugar is very common alongside basal insulin and common alongside a sulfonylurea.
In the weight-loss trials, 68.7% of people on the top dose had a stomach or gut side effect at some point, against 36.3% on placebo. Most were mild or moderate, and they were more likely while the dose was going up. Pulse also rose, by about 7 to 9 beats a minute on average during the step-ups, settling to about 4 to 5 above the starting level by week 72 (UK SmPC, section 4.8).
In ATTAIN-1, 10.3% of people on the top dose stopped because of side effects, 7.9% on the middle dose and 5.3% on the lowest, against 2.7% on placebo (ATTAIN-1, NEJM 2025).
From the UK label and NHS advice
When to get help
Severe stomach pain that won't go away
Sometimes spreading to your back, with or without being sick. Stop Foundayo and call 999 or go to A&E: it can be a sign of pancreatitis.
Signs of a serious allergic reaction
Swelling of your lips, mouth, throat or tongue, trouble breathing, or a sudden rash. Call 999 or go to A&E.
Being sick or diarrhoea that won't stop
Losing fluid can harm your kidneys. Sip fluids and contact your prescriber or call 111.
Signs of a gallbladder problem
Yellow skin or eyes, a high temperature or shivers, or sudden severe tummy pain: call 999 or go to A&E. Pain in your upper right tummy lasting more than 30 minutes: get an urgent GP appointment or call 111.
Report side effects
Use the MHRA Yellow Card website or app. Foundayo is a new medicine under extra monitoring, so reports help.
Before you start: other medicines, contraception and pregnancy
Before you take Foundayo
- Tell your prescriber and pharmacist about everything you take. Some medicines change how much Foundayo gets into your blood, and Foundayo changes some of them.
- Some HIV medicines, such as ritonavir, shouldn't be taken with it. Some antibiotics and antifungals, such as clarithromycin, itraconazole and ketoconazole, cap Foundayo at 9 mg a day.
- Rifampicin, phenytoin, carbamazepine and St John's wort can stop Foundayo working well, so the label says to avoid them. If you take simvastatin, the label says its dose should be halved, and higher doses of rosuvastatin need care.
- If you use the contraceptive pill, switch to a non-oral method or add a barrier method such as condoms for 30 days after starting Foundayo and for 30 days after each dose increase.
- Use effective contraception while you take it. Don't take it while pregnant or breastfeeding: if you become pregnant, stop and tell your prescriber, and if you're planning a pregnancy, stop at least 3 weeks before.
- If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, ask whether those doses need lowering, because low blood sugar is more likely.
- Tell the team before an operation or sedation: Foundayo slows how fast your stomach empties.
- It isn't recommended in severe heart failure (NYHA class IV). Tell your prescriber if you've had pancreatitis, if you take blood pressure medicines (low blood pressure is more likely), or if you have type 2 diabetes with eye problems (retinopathy), which needs monitoring.
From the UK SmPC for Foundayo, sections 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6 (August 2026).
Who Foundayo is licensed for
The MHRA licensed it for weight loss and weight maintenance in adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 to 30 with at least one weight-related condition, such as prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnoea or heart disease. It's used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity (UK SmPC, section 4.1).
It's separately licensed to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes that isn't well controlled, on its own or with other diabetes medicines. It's not licensed for under-18s. A prescriber checks your BMI, your medical history and what else you take before deciding whether it suits you.
Private prescription and the NHS
On private prescription since 24 August 2026
Lilly made Foundayo available on private prescription in the UK on 24 August 2026, the first country in Europe where it went on sale (The Pharmacist, 24 August 2026). Buy it only on a prescription from a pharmacy registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council. Anything sold as orforglipron without a prescription has no checked contents, strength or sterility.
We don't list prices on this page. Our UK GLP-1 price comparison has current prices for Foundayo and the other options.
Is Foundayo on the NHS?
Not yet. NICE's committee first looked at it on 14 July 2026 and couldn't reach a full conclusion "because more information is needed from the company" (NICE, 5 August 2026). When Foundayo launched, a NICE spokesperson told Reuters it had asked for more information, with no date then set for a second review (Reuters).
NICE has since set a second committee meeting for 10 November 2026 and now expects to publish its guidance on 27 January 2027, later than first planned (NICE, ID6516). Appraisal dates can move again. And a yes from NICE isn't the same as a prescription the next week: the NHS then has to plan how to provide it, which for Mounjaro has meant a phased rollout.
Foundayo vs Mounjaro and the Wegovy pill
The UK now has four main GLP-1 options for weight loss: two weekly injections, Mounjaro and Wegovy, and two daily tablets, the Wegovy pill and Foundayo. Here's how Foundayo lines up with Mounjaro and the other tablet:
| Foundayo | Wegovy pill | Mounjaro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine | Orforglipron | Semaglutide | Tirzepatide |
| How you take it | Tablet, once a day | Tablet, once a day | Injection, once a week |
| Food and water rules | None | Empty stomach, a sip of water, then wait 30 minutes | None |
| Dose range | 0.8 to 17.2 mg | 1.5 to 25 mg | 2.5 to 15 mg |
| Main trial, top dose | 11.2% at 72 weeks | 13.6% at 64 weeks | 20.9% at 72 weeks |
| On the NHS | No | No | Yes, for some people |
The trial figures count everyone who started, in separate trials, so they're a rough guide. The dose numbers can't be compared at all: a daily 17.2 mg tablet and a weekly 15 mg injection aren't the same amount of medicine reaching your blood, and there's no official conversion between any of them. We explain why in our guide to oral and injected doses. For the two tablets side by side, see Foundayo vs the Wegovy pill.
Foundayo is not retatrutide
Worth reading twice, because the internet keeps mixing them up. Foundayo (orforglipron) is a daily single GLP-1 tablet, licensed by the MHRA in August 2026. Retatrutide is a weekly injection that works on three receptors (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon). It's still in trials, isn't licensed anywhere, and is the drug behind the eye-catching 25%-plus figures (Drugs.com). Anything sold online as retatrutide in the UK is illegal. Our retatrutide guide has the 2026 trial results.
FAQs
What is Foundayo?
Is Foundayo available in the UK?
Is Foundayo available on the NHS?
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What are the Foundayo doses?
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Foundayo reviews: what do people report?
Is it called Foundation?
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What if I miss a dose of Foundayo?
This guide is general information from the UK label and published trials, not medical advice. Your prescriber sets your doses.
View sources (16)
- UK first in Europe to authorise orforglipron for weight management and type 2 diabetes, MHRA, GOV.UK, 10 August 2026
- Foundayo film-coated tablets, UK Summary of Product Characteristics, electronic medicines compendium, updated 14 August 2026
- Foundayo, UK patient information leaflet, electronic medicines compendium, August 2026
- Wharton S, et al. Orforglipron, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist for obesity treatment (ATTAIN-1). New England Journal of Medicine, 2025
- Orforglipron in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes (ATTAIN-2), The Lancet, 2026
- Weight-loss pill Foundayo now available in UK pharmacies, The Pharmacist, 24 August 2026
- Eli Lilly launches oral weight-loss pill Foundayo in UK, Reuters (syndicated copy), 23 August 2026
- Orforglipron for managing overweight and obesity (ID6516), NICE, in development
- Committee update for ID6516: more information needed from the company, NICE, 5 August 2026
- FDA approves Lilly's Foundayo (orforglipron), Eli Lilly press release, 1 April 2026
- Jastreboff AM, et al. Tirzepatide once weekly for the treatment of obesity (SURMOUNT-1). New England Journal of Medicine, 2022
- First GLP-1 tablet for weight loss approved in the UK, MHRA, GOV.UK, 11 June 2026
- Retatrutide approval history (still investigational), Drugs.com
- Yellow Card: report a suspected side effect, MHRA
- Gallstones: when to get help, NHS
- Acute pancreatitis: when to get help, NHS
