Which Drugs Are GLP-1s? Mounjaro, Trulicity, Phentermine and 25 More, Checked

Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Victoza, Saxenda, Trulicity and Foundayo are GLP‑1 receptor agonists; the class line at the top of each FDA label says so.^[1] Mounjaro and Zepbound are GLP‑1 receptor agonists that also act on a second receptor, GIP.^[7][8] Phentermine, Contrave, Qsymia, metformin, Jardiance, Januvia and insulin are not GLP‑1s. Retatrutide acts on the GLP‑1 receptor and two others, and is not approved anywhere.^[29] Supplements sold as “GLP‑1” are not drugs at all. The table below sorts 28 names by what each label calls the product.

The register: is it a GLP-1?

A GLP‑1 receptor agonist is a drug that binds the same receptor as the gut hormone GLP‑1 and switches it on. That is a precise test. A drug can lower blood sugar, cut appetite or cause weight loss without passing that test, and most weight-loss drugs sold before 2021 do not pass it.

Four of the 16 GLP‑1 entries in the table carry a weight-management indication: Wegovy, Saxenda, Zepbound and Foundayo.^[2][5][8][9] The rest are licensed for type 2 diabetes. Five weight drugs on the list are not GLP‑1s at all.^{[17][18][19][22][23]} Which molecule sits inside which brand is set out in brand names versus molecules.

Why the class matters: no two at once

The class matters because GLP‑1 labels warn against stacking. Saxenda’s label says pairing it with any other GLP‑1 receptor agonist is not recommended,^[5] Wegovy’s says the same,^[2] and Zepbound’s extends it to any GLP‑1 receptor agonist alongside tirzepatide.^[8] The insulin combinations carry the rule too: Xultophy already contains liraglutide, and its label advises against adding another GLP‑1 drug.^[12] Someone switching from Trulicity to Zepbound, or keeping a diabetes pen while starting a weight pen, is moving between two members of one class, not adding a second kind of drug.

Drugs outside the class are a different question. Pairing a GLP‑1 with an SGLT2 inhibitor, metformin or phentermine is covered in an SGLT2 inhibitor and a GLP-1 together, metformin and a GLP-1 together and phentermine and a GLP-1 together.

Is Mounjaro or Zepbound a GLP-1?

Yes, and something more. Both labels open with the same class line: tirzepatide is a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor and GLP‑1 receptor agonist.^[7][8] The mechanism section says it binds to and activates both receptors. The molecule is built on the GIP sequence, not the GLP‑1 one,^[7] which is why some writers call it “not a GLP‑1.” By the label, it is a GLP‑1 receptor agonist with a second action. Calling it a dual agonist is accurate; calling it not a GLP‑1 is not.

Mounjaro and Zepbound are the same molecule under two approvals. Mounjaro is licensed for type 2 diabetes; Zepbound for weight management and, in adults who have obesity, for sleep apnea of the moderate or severe obstructive type.^[7][8]

Compounded tirzepatide sits in the same class, whoever sells it, so the no-two-at-once warning above applies to it as much as to the brands. It reaches buyers in very different ways. RxPros sells it at one price at any dose with a three-month minimum, and Teleios Health and Mint Medical Clinic list it beside compounded semaglutide, Mint with in-person clinics in Utah. DadVantage Men’s Health, a Florida men’s practice, bills the drug on top of a monthly program fee. At the far end, Shape Vantage sells a tirzepatide kit through a direct checkout link with no medical intake.

Is Trulicity a GLP-1, and is it semaglutide?

Trulicity is a GLP‑1 receptor agonist. It is not semaglutide. Its molecule, dulaglutide, is a fusion protein: two GLP‑1-like chains each joined to part of a human antibody, which is what lets it last a week.^[6] The label puts its GLP‑1 portion at 90% homologous to the native hormone. Semaglutide, in Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, is a different modified peptide that the Ozempic label puts at 94% sequence homology and holds in the blood by binding albumin.^[1] Both are weekly injections that act on the same receptor. They are separate drugs from separate companies, and Trulicity’s only indication is type 2 diabetes.^[6]

Is Rybelsus a GLP-1?

Yes. Rybelsus is semaglutide in tablet form, and its label, shared with Ozempic tablets, calls both GLP‑1 receptor agonists for type 2 diabetes.^[3] It is the same molecule as Ozempic. Foundayo, also a GLP‑1 pill, is not: orforglipron is a small synthetic molecule rather than a peptide, and its label licenses it for weight management.^[9]

Semaglutide also turns up online in forms no label describes. MyDrHank sells a daily compounded tablet that pairs semaglutide with ondansetron, an anti-nausea drug that is not a GLP‑1. Velvet Rx sells a daily GLP‑1 tablet made with semaglutide or tirzepatide, and Mojoon sells semaglutide as sublingual drops. Fidelity Medical Clinic, a Tampa clinic that sees Florida residents by telehealth, sells compounded semaglutide as a weekly injection or as oral tablets. These are compounded products, not Rybelsus: the Rybelsus label tells you what class the molecule belongs to, not how any of these was made.

Is Ozempic insulin?

No. Ozempic contains no insulin. It is a GLP‑1 receptor agonist that makes the pancreas release more of the body’s own insulin, and only when blood sugar is high. Its label describes semaglutide stimulating insulin secretion and lowering glucagon “both in a glucose-dependent manner.”^[1] Insulin itself is a different class. Lantus, for example, is described on its label as a long-acting human insulin analog.^[20]

The two are often used together, which is part of the confusion. Ozempic’s label warns that combining it with insulin or with a drug that pushes insulin secretion can raise the risk of low blood sugar, including severe episodes.^[1] Two products put both in one pen: Soliqua (insulin glargine with lixisenatide) and Xultophy (insulin degludec with liraglutide).^[11][12] Those are combination products; Ozempic on its own is not.

Januvia raises your GLP-1 but is not a GLP-1

Januvia (sitagliptin) is the closest relative that fails the test. It is a DPP‑4 inhibitor,^[13] and DPP‑4 is the enzyme that breaks down the body’s own GLP‑1 within minutes. Blocking it leaves more natural GLP‑1 and GIP circulating; the label says concentrations of the active hormones are increased. Januvia does not act on the receptor itself, and the difference shows in weight: in one of the trials on Januvia’s label, there was no significant difference between Januvia and placebo in body weight change.^[13] Januvia is licensed for type 2 diabetes only.

Phentermine, Contrave, metformin and Jardiance: not GLP-1s

These four are the most-asked about, and none of them touches the GLP‑1 receptor.

• Phentermine is a sympathomimetic amine anorectic, a stimulant related to amphetamine, and a Schedule IV controlled substance. Its label approves it only as a short-term adjunct of a few weeks.^[17] Qsymia pairs it with topiramate for long-term use.^[18] How phentermine compares with a GLP‑1 as an alternative is in phentermine vs a GLP-1.
• Contrave combines naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, with bupropion, an aminoketone antidepressant. It is approved for long-term weight management.^[19] Its label points to appetite and reward signaling in the brain; the GLP‑1 receptor is not its target.
• Metformin is a biguanide. Its label says it lowers the liver’s glucose output, reduces glucose absorption from the gut and improves insulin sensitivity.^[16] It is not like Ozempic in mechanism, and it is not licensed for weight.
• Jardiance (empagliflozin) and Farxiga (dapagliflozin) are SGLT2 inhibitors. They make the kidneys pass glucose into the urine.^[14][15] Neither is licensed for weight loss; what they do to weight is set out in Jardiance and Farxiga for weight loss.

Two more weight drugs sit outside the class. Xenical (orlistat) blocks fat-digesting enzymes in the gut.^[22] Imcivree (setmelanotide) acts on a different brain receptor, MC4, and is licensed only for obesity caused by specific genetic conditions or hypothalamic damage.^[23] Symlin is sometimes mistaken for a GLP‑1 because it is also an injected gut-and-pancreas hormone copy. It is an amylin analog, used with mealtime insulin.^[21]

Is retatrutide a GLP-1?

In part. Retatrutide, shortened online to “reta,” activates three receptors: GIP, GLP‑1 and glucagon.^[27][28] It is a GLP‑1 receptor agonist in the way tirzepatide is, with a third action added. It is not an approved medicine. Lilly stated in August 2026 that no medicine containing retatrutide has been approved by any regulator in the world,^[29] and FDA says it cannot be used in compounding and has not been found safe and effective for any condition.^[30]

The trial data are real. In the 80-week TRIUMPH‑1 trial of 2,339 adults with obesity, people on the 9 mg dose lost an average 23.7% of body weight and those on 12 mg lost 25.0%, while the placebo group lost 3.9%. Those figures use the treatment-regimen estimand, which counts everyone randomized.^[28] They describe Lilly’s trial drug, and vials sold online as retatrutide are not that product.

GLP-1s that are gone or going

Several GLP‑1 receptor agonists are no longer sold as brands in the US. They still belong on the list because people search for them and because old prescriptions name them.

• Tanzeum (albiglutide), a weekly GLP‑1 from GSK, is listed as discontinued on Drugs@FDA. Its last label described it as a GLP‑1 receptor agonist.^[24]
• Bydureon BCise (weekly exenatide) is listed as discontinued,^[25] and AstraZeneca’s Byetta listing is too.^[33] Exenatide was the first GLP‑1 drug, a peptide first identified in the Gila monster.^[10] Its history and the generic now sold are covered in exenatide (Byetta and Bydureon).
• Adlyxin (lixisenatide) still holds its FDA approval,^[26] but no current Adlyxin label is posted on DailyMed. Lixisenatide reaches US patients inside Soliqua.^[11]
• Victoza (liraglutide) remains approved and carries a current label dated October 2025.^[4]

Berberine and “GLP-1” supplements

Products sold as “GLP‑1 support,” “nature’s Ozempic” or berberine are dietary supplements. FDA has no authority to approve dietary supplements before they are sold.^[31] None contains a GLP‑1 receptor agonist. The best-studied, berberine, averaged 0.88 kg more weight lost than control across 23 randomized trials.^[32] The ingredient-by-ingredient evidence is in GLP-1 supplements: do they work?

How to check any drug yourself

1. Find the drug’s prescribing information on DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine’s label database.
2. Read the Highlights box. The indication paragraph opens with a class line: “[Drug] is a … indicated for”. If it says GLP‑1 receptor agonist, it is one.
3. If the class line names something else, such as DPP‑4 inhibitor, SGLT2 inhibitor, biguanide or insulin analog, it is not a GLP‑1, whatever the marketing says.
4. If there is no FDA label at all, the product is not an approved drug. That covers supplements and anything sold “for research purposes.”^[30]