The highest labelled dose of tirzepatide is 15 mg once weekly and of injected semaglutide 7.2 mg once weekly (Wegovy) or 2 mg (Ozempic), according to the Zepbound label and the Wegovy label on DailyMed, both read 2026-11-03. The second half of the question searchers ask — do the higher doses produce more weight loss — has a trial answer for each molecule, and this page sets out both: every current US ceiling by label, then what the dose-ranging trials measured. It reports; it recommends no dose.
Where each ladder starts is on GLP-1 starting dose, and the doses the labels call maintenance are set out with the withdrawal trials behind them.
Maximum doses, by label
| Product (label effective) | Molecule, route | Maximum | The step before it | Condition the label attaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zepbound (2026-08-28) | tirzepatide, weekly injection | 15 mg | 12.5 mg | None beyond tolerance; 15 mg for all indications |
| Mounjaro (2026-07-29) | tirzepatide, weekly injection | 15 mg adults; 10 mg aged 10+ | 12.5 mg | Increases "if additional glycemic control is needed" |
| Wegovy injection (2026-06-18) | semaglutide, weekly injection | 7.2 mg (adult weight reduction) | 2.4 mg, for at least 4 weeks | Where "additional weight reduction is clinically indicated" |
| Ozempic (2026-07-30) | semaglutide, weekly injection | 2 mg | 1 mg, for at least 4 weeks | If additional glycaemic control is needed |
| Wegovy tablets (2026-06-18) | semaglutide, daily tablet | 25 mg | 9 mg | Maintenance dose from day 91 |
| Rybelsus (2026-01-30) | semaglutide, daily tablet | 14 mg | 7 mg | From day 61, if more glycaemic control is needed |
| Ozempic tablets (2026-01-30) | semaglutide, daily tablet | 9 mg | 4 mg | Same |
Wegovy's 7.2 mg is the outlier: it is three times the 2.4 mg dose immediately below it, and it is the only maximum that applies to one indication (adult weight reduction) and not to the others on the same label, where 2.4 mg remains the top. The step-by-step ladders are on the Zepbound dose chart and the Wegovy dose chart.
Do higher doses produce more weight loss?
Each molecule has one trial that randomised people to different top doses, so the comparison is within a trial, not across trials.
| Trial (population, length) | Arms | Mean weight change | Lost ≥20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide (2,539 adults, no diabetes, 72 weeks) | 5 / 10 / 15 mg / placebo | −15.0% / −19.5% / −20.9% / −3.1% | — / 50% / 57% / 3% |
| Wegovy label Study 8, semaglutide (1,407 adults, obesity, 72 weeks) | 7.2 / 2.4 mg / placebo | −18.8% / −15.5% / −3.9% | 45.5% / 32.3% / 2.8% |
| Wegovy label Study 9, semaglutide (512 adults, type 2 diabetes, 72 weeks) | 7.2 / 2.4 mg / placebo | −13.2% / −10.4% / −3.8% | 20.6% / 13.5% / 2% |
| Retatrutide phase 2 (338 adults, 48 weeks) | 1 / 4 / 8 / 12 mg / placebo | −8.7% / −17.1% / −22.8% / −24.2% / −2.1% | not in the abstract |
| TRIUMPH-1, retatrutide (2,339 adults, no diabetes, 80 weeks; sponsor topline) | 4 / 9 / 12 mg / placebo | −19.0% / −25.9% / −28.3% / −2.2% | not reported as ≥20% |
The pattern is the same in all four programmes: each higher dose added weight loss, and each added step added less than the one before. In SURMOUNT-1, going from 5 to 10 mg added 4.5 percentage points and going from 10 to 15 mg added 1.4. In the retatrutide phase 2 trial, 4 to 8 mg added 5.7 points and 8 to 12 mg added 1.4. For semaglutide, tripling the dose from 2.4 to 7.2 mg added 3.3 points in people without diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes lost less at every dose of semaglutide than people without it.
Tolerability moved the other way in places. In SURMOUNT-1, adverse events led 4.3%, 7.1% and 6.2% of the 5, 10 and 15 mg groups to stop, against 2.6% on placebo. In Study 8, 5.4% stopped on 7.2 mg for adverse reactions against 1% on placebo. The labels give these figures as the reason the top doses are conditional.
Above the label
The registry holds no completed trial of injected tirzepatide above 15 mg. A scan of the arm descriptions of the 310 ClinicalTrials.gov records with tirzepatide as an intervention, read on 2026-11-03, found one record listing a higher amount: NCT06648031, a 148-participant phase 1b study by Lexaria Bioscience of its oral DehydraTECH delivery technology, with an arm described as "Tirzepatide arm - 20mg for 4 weeks and then 40mg for 8 weeks" and no stated route. It is not a test of a higher weekly injection. Compounded and research vials carry no label and so no maximum; any ceiling printed for one is the seller's, not a regulator's.
The top doses as syringe units
For a vial, units on a U-100 syringe = milligrams ÷ concentration in mg/mL × 100. A dash marks a draw larger than one 100-unit syringe.
| Dose | 5 mg/mL | 10 mg/mL | 20 mg/mL | 30 mg/mL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semaglutide 2 mg | 40 units | 20 | 10 | 6.7 |
| Semaglutide 2.4 mg | 48 | 24 | 12 | 8 |
| Semaglutide 7.2 mg | — | 72 | 36 | 24 |
| Tirzepatide 15 mg | — | — | 75 | 50 |
| Retatrutide 12 mg (trial top) | — | — | 60 | 40 |
The full tables are on tirzepatide units, semaglutide units and retatrutide units.
What is not established
Whether injected tirzepatide above 15 mg adds weight loss has not been tested in any trial found in the registry; for semaglutide, the 7.2 mg arm of Study 8 is the highest dose with published results in the label. Whether the retatrutide dose-response holds in the full peer-reviewed TRIUMPH results is not yet known: the 80-week figures above are the sponsor's topline. Whether the people who gained most from a higher dose can be identified in advance is not answered by these trials. Medibact's tirzepatide guide, semaglutide guide and retatrutide guide cover the compounds. Decisions about any dose belong with the prescriber.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-11-03: the openFDA label records for ZEPBOUND (set id 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b, effective 2026-08-28), MOUNJARO (0818426a-53eb-4db7-9609-bbae1e7a3964, effective 2026-07-29), OZEMPIC injection (42bdd912-2393-44c4-b7e0-47672ca28991, effective 2026-07-30) and RYBELSUS / OZEMPIC tablets (27f15fac-7d98-4114-a2ec-92494a91da98, effective 2026-01-30); the DailyMed SPL of WEGOVY (ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b, effective 2026-06-18), sections 2.2, 2.3, 6.1 and Table 12 of section 14.2; the abstracts of PMIDs 35658024 and 37366315 through NCBI E-utilities; Eli Lilly's TRIUMPH-1 release of 2026-05-21 (PR Newswire); the ClinicalTrials.gov v2 API, every record with tirzepatide as an intervention, and NCT06648031. Percentage-point differences and unit arithmetic by this site. Corrections go to the contact page.