GLP1's Weekly Pills Pens and Progress 8
Posted on September 4, 2026 by Sally-Anne Turner
September is here, and with the start of Autumn in the UK comes orforglipron, or the Foundayo pill.
It was a smash hit in the US, and it is predicted to do equally well in the UK. However, this phase of the year marks something intriguing in the world of GLP-1 research. GLP-1s seem to be breaking the barriers globally, with some now being prescribed as part of cardiovascular health regimens. We are now also starting to see research looking at GLP-1 pills helping prolong the effectiveness of initial weight loss treatment with injectables.
It’s an area that can be hard to keep up with, but our team at the Bodyline Clinic aim to give you a simplified summary of this field of medicine to help you understand it more and its potential role in your own weight loss journey. So, welcome to GLP-1s Weekly, Pills, Pens and Progress 8.
Mounjaro and Expanded Use
We have already talked about how people who have type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of cardiovascular issues.
However, there has been a change in how Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (or tirzepatide) can be prescribed in the US. As of the 28th of August 2026, this medication is now not only available to help manage blood glucose but also to reduce the risk of cardiovascular deaths, non-fatal heart attacks and non-fatal strokes in those with type 2 diabetes.
Why did this happen? There was a large, international study by SURPASS-CVOT that involved more than 13,299 people across 30 countries who had type 2 diabetes. Those who were taking tirzepatide were at an 8% lower risk of major cardiovascular events, compared to those taking dulaglutide. For reference, that medication is another GLP-1 that is prescribed to help with diabetes in the US.
Mounjaro is a bit different from GLP-1’s like Wegovy UK or Foundayo. It activates both GIP and GLP-1 receptors, which are hormones that influence blood glucose, metabolism, as well as being an appetite suppressant. One thing to note is that while this points to Mounjaro being a good addition to weight loss and, indeed, cardiovascular medications, it does not mean that it will replace current heart medications.
Even so, this points to the expansion of GLP-1s beyond the realm of weight loss, which is an exciting thing to see.
Find the original article here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2505928.
GLP-1s and Male Pattern Baldness
OK, so you may have read that GLP-1’s are associated with hair loss in both men and women.
Now, there is a reason why a few weeks after starting a GLP-1 that this may occur. Called telogen effluvium, this happens when the body goes through physiological stress. This pushes more hairs than usual into the resting phase of the natural hair cycle quickly, causing more hair to be lost. The difference is that with medications such as semaglutide (Wegovy or Ozempic) or Tirzepatide, the hair loss was noted to be temporary.
However, there has been a study from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in June 2026 that has looked more closely at the evidence between GLP-1 treatments and hair loss. It was noted that people who took semaglutide and injectable tirzepatide doses had a higher risk of developing longer-lasting alopecia, including androgenetic alopecia alongside telogen effluvium. Indeed, a systematic review (also from 2026) found that both of the aforementioned GLP-1s had the strongest hair loss signals.
So, what does this mean for the future of weight loss medications? It is too early to conclude that any GLP-1 medicines can be directly linked to permanent baldness or loss of hair. There is more research needed to explore the impact that rapid weight loss has on the body and its role in hair loss, alongside genetics and potential nutritional changes that are a core part of GLP-1 treatments.
See the original paper here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41707704/.
Orforglipron and Weight Loss Maintenance
If you read our recent piece on orforglipron (Foundayo), the new Eli Lilly drug, you will be aware that with this medication, there is no maintenance dose. Those taking it are advised by the MHRA to stay at the lowest dose to help them maintain their weight loss.
A new study from the British Heart Foundation has examined whether this daily GLP-1 medication can help people to maintain their weight loss after they have stopped taking injectable GLP-1 medications, such as Mounjaro and Wegovy.
The May 2026 study published in Nature Medicine involved 376 people who had previously taken tirzepatide or semaglutide for 72 weeks. They were then given daily orforglipron or a placebo for another 52 weeks. The people who were on orforglipron retained their weight more consistently than those taking the placebo.
Participants maintained:
- 75–79% of their previous weight loss versus
- 38–49% of those who were taking the placebo.
It should also be noted that the benefits did not stop at body weight. People who took the maintenance orforglipron also had improvements in blood glucose, blood pressure and LDL (or bad) cholesterol. This highlights that this maintenance of weight loss also helped to sustain some of the overall improvements in GLP-1 medications.
At the time of writing, this maintenance with orforglipron is not part of the post-GLP-1 regimen and you should NOT take GLP-1 tablets after injectable treatments without medical assessments first. As more research is conducted, more insight into this will be offered, and who knows? Maybe one day it will be a standard part of the treatment.
See the original paper here:
There is standard treatment with GLP-1s, and then there is specialised treatment. The latter is what our team at the Bodyline Clinic can offer to those who may have been turned away from pharmacies due to health issues. Our expert clinical team has over 18 years of experience helping people to lose weight safely. We also provide medical support throughout GLP-1 weight loss programmes, so if you want more than a prescription to reach your weight loss goals, call our team today!
