Semaglutide Microdose

What it is

Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a peptide that mimics a naturally occurring gut hormone involved in insulin secretion, appetite regulation, and gastric emptying. The FDA-approved brand versions, Ozempic (for type 2 diabetes) and Wegovy (for chronic weight management), are dosed on defined escalation schedules established in their clinical trial programs and FDA labeling. Compounded semaglutide, the form available through this telehealth pathway, is not FDA approved; only Ozempic and Wegovy carry that status, and only for their specific approved indications and dosing.

This microdose option is a lower entry dose intended as a starter dose for patients whose provider determines a reduced dose is the appropriate starting point, often to support gradual titration and tolerability. It is not a lower-cost substitute chosen by the patient outside of that clinical judgment. Semaglutide, at any dose, is available after a licensed-provider evaluation and, if prescribed, is compounded through a US-licensed compounding pharmacy.

Van Peptides connects patients with an independent network of US-licensed providers who evaluate whether semaglutide, and at what starting dose, fits your history and goals. We do not diagnose, prescribe, or dispense, and we do not employ the providers or the pharmacy.

What the literature has explored

Semaglutide’s approved dosing schedule for Wegovy is built around gradual dose escalation, starting at a low dose and increasing over weeks, specifically to support tolerability as the body adjusts to GLP-1 receptor agonism (WEGOVY (semaglutide) FDA label). That titration logic, starting low and adjusting based on tolerability, is the same clinical reasoning behind offering a lower entry dose here, though the specific compounded dosing options are not the identical schedule studied in the Wegovy or Ozempic trials.

The efficacy and safety data most directly applicable to semaglutide come from the trials supporting Ozempic and Wegovy’s approval, which used their specific FDA-reviewed dosing schedules. Compounded semaglutide at a reduced starting dose has not been studied in that same trial framework, and outcomes are individual. A provider who prescribes a lower entry dose is making an individualized titration decision, not asserting that a lower dose is equivalent to or interchangeable with the approved products’ schedules.

We describe the approved brand-drug facts because they are the most rigorous data available on this molecule, but we do not claim compounded semaglutide, at a microdose or otherwise, carries the same FDA approval or guarantees the same results.