You came here looking for information on oral tirzepatide, so we’ll address the elephant in the room right away. As of publication, there is no oral tirzepatide.
Currently, the only form of tirzepatide approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is injectable, and it goes by the brand names Zepbound and Mounjaro. Eli Lilly, the company behind tirzepatide, is now developing an oral GLP-1 medicine called orforglipron.
Read on as we explain why there’s currently no tirzepatide pill and review the alternatives you can consider instead.
No, currently, there is no oral form of tirzepatide. Tirzepatide only exists as an injectable medication under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound.
That’s due to the nature of tirzepatide’s molecule, says Kathryn Horton, MD, a board-certified internal medicine physician and expert contributor at Drugwatch.com.
“Tirzepatide is a synthetic peptide that is rapidly degraded by digestive enzymes within the gastrointestinal tract,” Dr. Horton says.
When all is said is done, too little of it would remain in your system to be effective.
While researchers have found ways for other GLP-1s, such as semaglutide, to be effective in an oral form, they haven't been able to do the same for tirzepatide, at least not yet.
“Unlike oral semaglutide, tirzepatide’s larger molecular size and chemical modifications currently pose significant challenges for the development of an effective oral formulation," Dr. Horton says.
Tirzepatide works by mimicking two natural hormones in your body: glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).
By activating both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors, tirzepatide:
Together, these effects balance blood sugar levels and reduce appetite, which can lead to weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Because tirzepatide targets two hormone receptors (vs. just one like other GLP-1s), it offers more blood sugar and weight loss benefits.
Currently, there is no research on oral tirzepatide. But injectable tirzepatide has been extensively studied and is FDA-approved for weight loss, type 2 diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Orforglipron is an oral, once-daily GLP-1 for weight loss that’s being developed by Eli Lilly, while oral tirzepatide doesn’t exist. Injectable tirzepatide, however, does exist; it's a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist for weight loss and diabetes that’s also manufactured by Eli Lilly.
Here’s how injectable tirzepatide and orforglipron compare when it comes to type 2 diabetes and weight loss.
While impressive, these results still show that orforglipron is slightly less effective than injectable tirzepatide for weight loss and blood sugar control.
That’s because while both drugs target GLP-1 receptors, tirzepatide also works on the GIP receptor, Dr. Horton says. “Current studies suggest the dual action of tirzepatide on both GLP-1 and GIP receptors achieves superior blood sugar control and greater weight loss compared to GLP-1 only agonists.”
Orforglipron’s smaller molecular size makes it more suitable for an oral form, Dr. Horton adds. But it’s also what holds it back in effectiveness, especially compared to tirzepatide.
The clinical data for orforglipron is promising, and Eli Lilly plans to submit it for FDA approval as a weight loss treatment in 2025 (and for type 2 diabetes in 2026). That means we may see orforglipron available sometime in 2026 or later.
While oral tirzepatide doesn’t yet exist, there are various alternatives you can take to treat type 2 diabetes and/or lose weight. In many cases, the tirzepatide alternatives listed below are effective at both.
As of January 5, 2026, the Wegovy pill is available in the US. It’s an oral version of semaglutide (and first oral GLP-1) specifically FDA approved for weight loss.
The Wegovy pill is indicated for weight loss and management in certain populations and to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular problems in adults with cardiovascular disease and either obesity and overweight.
Like Rybelsus, oral Wegovy is taken daily. In clinical trials, it produced an average weight loss of 13.6% over 64 weeks (about a year and three months).
Rybelsus is an oral GLP-1 medication that contains the same active ingredient (semaglutide) as the Wegovy pill and the injectable medications Ozempic and Wegovy.
Rybelsus is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and for reducing the risk of serious cardiovascular problems in people with type 2 diabetes. But studies show it can also cause a small amount of weight loss.
Over the course of a year and a half, Rybelsus lowers A1C levels by 0.9% and causes an average weight loss of 7.5 pounds. Some people taking Rybelsus experience even more weight loss on Rybelsus, with about one in three people losing at least 5% of their body weight.
Metformin is a daily or twice-daily oral medication for type 2 diabetes that’s sometimes prescribed off-label for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Metformin works by decreasing glucose production and enhancing insulin sensitivity, which helps to lower insulin levels and blood sugar. Metformin also reduces appetite, which leads to a modest amount of weight loss: about 8 pounds in seven months.
Injectable tirzepatide is available as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Both versions come in the same dosage strengths, have the same side effects, and are injected once a week.
There is no difference between Mounjaro vs. Zepbound other than what they’re FDA-approved to treat:
Injectable semaglutide is available as Ozempic and Wegovy. Both are weekly injections that cause similar side effects. But they have different dosage strengths and are FDA-approved for different conditions.
Unlike tirzepatide, Ozempic and Wegovy are GLP-1 agonists, which means they target only one receptor.
Unlike the other injectable GLP-1s on this list, liraglutide must be injected once a day. It follows a dosage titration schedule, where you start at a low dosage and ramp up over a period of weeks to your maintenance dose.
Injectable liraglutide is FDA-approved for different conditions under different brand names with different dosage strengths:
