GLP-1 titration schedule
Every published GLP-1 escalation schedule, laid out side by side — what each FDA label specifies for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, and what each retatrutide trial administered. No schedule on this page is Prof. Peptide’s own; each table reports one document.
Topic: Comparing published GLP-1 escalation schedules
Audience: Anyone comparing a schedule against its source, across products
Reading time: 6–8 minutes
Not affiliated with Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly. Prof. Peptide is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either company. Ozempic and Wegovy are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S; Mounjaro and Zepbound are registered trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company. This page reports what each company’s own prescribing information and trial disclosures state; it sets no schedule of its own.
On this page
What this page reports
Four FDA-approved products share a mechanism — GLP-1 or dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonism — and each escalates its dose on a schedule its own label specifies. The four schedules are not identical: they differ in starting dose, step size, and step interval, because each was set against that product’s own trial program and approved indications. This page transcribes each label’s own section 2 (Dosage and Administration) into one table per product, plus what five published retatrutide trials administered — retatrutide has no approved product and therefore no label to read, so its section reports trial arms instead.
No table below is compared against another, ranked, or combined into a single recommended path. Reading four labels side by side is useful for seeing how they differ; it is not the same as one of them applying to a different product, and this page does not suggest otherwise. Each product’s own dosing guide covers its trials, warnings, and adverse-event tables in full; this page is the schedules alone, for comparison.
Ozempic (semaglutide)
Section 2 of Ozempic’s prescribing information — DailyMed setid adec4fd2-6858-4c99-91d4-531f5f2a2d79, effective 2026-05-19.
| Step | Dosage | As specified by the label |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | 0.25 mg once weekly | For 4 weeks. The label states this dosage is to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions during initiation, not for glycemic control. |
| First increase | 0.5 mg once weekly | After 4 weeks on the 0.25 mg dosage. |
| Second increase (if needed) | 1 mg once weekly | After at least 4 weeks on the 0.5 mg dosage, if additional glycemic control is needed. |
| Maximum dosage (if needed) | 2 mg once weekly | After at least 4 weeks on the 1 mg dosage, if additional glycemic control is needed. |
| Chronic kidney disease maintenance | 1 mg once weekly | After at least 4 weeks on the 0.5 mg dosage — the label states this dosage specifically to reduce the risk of sustained eGFR decline, end-stage kidney disease, and cardiovascular death in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. |
Full Ozempic dosing guide — trials, boxed warning, and adverse-event tables from the same label. See also the semaglutide profile.
Wegovy (semaglutide)
Section 2 of Wegovy’s prescribing information — DailyMed setid ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b, effective 2026-06-18.
| Step | Dosage | As specified by the label |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | 0.25 mg once weekly | Weeks 1–4, for all approved indications. |
| First increase | 0.5 mg once weekly | Weeks 5–8. |
| Second increase | 1 mg once weekly | Weeks 9–12. |
| Third increase | 1.7 mg once weekly | Weeks 13–16. |
| Maintenance — cardiovascular risk reduction | 2.4 mg (recommended) or 1.7 mg once weekly | Week 17 onward; the label states to consider treatment response and tolerability when selecting between the two. |
| Maintenance — weight reduction | 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg (recommended) once weekly | Week 17 onward; if 2.4 mg is tolerated for ≥4 weeks and additional weight reduction is clinically indicated, the label permits escalation to a maximum of 7.2 mg once weekly. |
Full Wegovy dosing guide — trials, boxed warning, and adverse-event tables from the same label. See also the semaglutide profile.
Mounjaro (tirzepatide)
Section 2 of Mounjaro’s prescribing information — DailyMed setid d2d7da5d-ad07-4228-955f-cf7e355c8cc0, effective 2026-08-27.
| Step | Dosage | As specified by the label |
|---|---|---|
| Starting dosage | 2.5 mg once weekly | The label states this dosage is for treatment initiation, not for glycemic control. |
| Dosage increase | +2.5 mg increments | After at least 4 weeks on the current dose, if additional glycemic control is needed. |
| Maximum dosage — adults | 15 mg once weekly | Reached only through the 2.5 mg step-wise increases above. |
| Maximum dosage — pediatric (10 years and older) | 10 mg once weekly | Reached only through the 2.5 mg step-wise increases above. |
Full Mounjaro dosing guide — trials, boxed warning, and adverse-event tables from the same label. See also the tirzepatide profile.
Zepbound (tirzepatide)
Section 2 of Zepbound’s prescribing information — DailyMed setid 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b, effective 2026-08-28.
| Step | Dosage | As specified by the label |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | 2.5 mg once weekly | For 4 weeks. The label states this dosage is for treatment initiation and is not approved as a maintenance dosage. |
| First increase | 5 mg once weekly | After 4 weeks on the 2.5 mg dosage. |
| Further increases (if needed) | +2.5 mg increments | After at least 4 weeks on the current dose, until the maintenance dosage is reached. |
| Maintenance — weight reduction | 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg once weekly | The label states to consider treatment response and tolerability when selecting the maintenance dosage. |
| Maintenance — obstructive sleep apnea | 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly | The label states to consider treatment response and tolerability when selecting the maintenance dosage. |
| Maximum dosage | 15 mg once weekly | For all approved indications. |
Full Zepbound dosing guide — trials, boxed warning, and adverse-event tables from the same label. See also the tirzepatide profile.
Retatrutide trial dose ladders
Retatrutide is investigational, with no FDA-approved product and therefore no label to read. The five trials below are the ones the retatrutide dosing guide covers in full, with each trial’s doses studied and escalation approach where the source states one. Where a topline release does not state an escalation approach, that is recorded as an absence rather than inferred.
| Trial | Doses studied | Escalation, as stated | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 2 — Obesity | 1 mg, 4 mg, 8 mg, 12 mg once weekly | Higher-dose arms used a 2 mg or 4 mg starting dose, escalated to target over the first 4–12 weeks. | NCT04881760 Jastreboff AM, Kaplan LM, Frías JP, et al. N Engl J Med. 2023;389:514–526. |
| Phase 2 — Type 2 Diabetes | 0.5 mg, 4 mg, 8 mg, 12 mg once weekly (plus a dulaglutide 1.5 mg active-comparator arm) | The 4 mg and 8 mg arms each split between two different starting-dose escalation strategies — the trial's published tables were not independently re-verified line by line for the strategies themselves. | NCT04867785 Rosenstock J, Frías J, Jastreboff AM, et al. Lancet. 2023;402:529–544. |
| TRIUMPH-1 — Phase 3, Obesity | 4 mg, 9 mg, 12 mg once weekly | Stepwise titration from a 2 mg starting dose, increased every 4 weeks to target. | NCT05929066 Eli Lilly and Company, topline results announcement, 2025; not yet peer-reviewed. |
| TRIUMPH-4 — Phase 3, Obesity + Knee Osteoarthritis | 9 mg, 12 mg once weekly | Not stated in the topline release this page draws from. | NCT05931367 Eli Lilly and Company, topline results announcement, December 2025; not yet peer-reviewed. |
| TRANSCEND-T2D-1 — Phase 3, Type 2 Diabetes | 4 mg, 9 mg, 12 mg once weekly | Not stated in the topline release this page draws from. | NCT06354660 Eli Lilly and Company, topline results announcement, March 2026; Lancet publication pending. |
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