From its groundbreaking study in the New England Journal of Medicine on weight loss, to it’s fame on Tik Tok, Mounjaro has been one of the hottest medications to hit the market in years. It is similar to the GLP-1 (Glucagon-like Peptide) agonist drug class, but it has a dual mechanism, and also acts as a GIP (Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) agonist. It is believed that GLP-1 contributes to 80% of the effectiveness of the medication. The GLP-1 agonists are commonly called semaglutide, and have several brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Since semaglutide is the key component of these medications, patients can be switched from one medication to another under the supervision of their provider. The dose of the medications will have to be adjusted accordingly to match the previous medication. Patients have switched from one medication to another for several reasons with the most common being the cost and availability of the medications.
While semaglutide does not act as a GIP agonist, like Mounjaro, it has been extremely effective in weight management as both medications act as GLP-1 analogs. Patients that have their GLP medications managed by a healthcare professional can be transitioned from one medication to another with little loss of effectiveness in the treatment.
Please contact your healthcare provider before starting or changing any of your medications.