GLP-1 drugs not approved yet: how far off each is
Three molecules get searched heavily and sold nowhere. Every page that covers them says some version of coming soon, which hides the only thing worth knowing: they are not at the same distance. One has finished its trials. Another has studies running into 2030. Below is what the trial registry actually says, which is the closest thing to a schedule that exists in public.
How close is each of these to being something you can buy?
Not close, and unevenly so. None holds an approved application in Drugs@FDA, checked on 2026-08-28; the same query returns six for semaglutide, so the blank is a finding rather than a failed search. Past that the three diverge sharply. Survodutide has completed all six of its phase 3 trials in obesity or overweight, the last on 1 June 2026, so no study is outstanding. Retatrutide has four of nine done, with the last of the remaining five reaching primary completion in October 2028. CagriSema has the largest programme and the longest tail — five of twelve complete, the last reading out in March 2030. A sponsor may file on part of a programme rather than all of it, so these bound the earliest plausible approval instead of predicting one. They still separate one drug that is waiting on paperwork from two that are waiting on years of data.
Side by side
| Drug | Sponsor | Phase 3 in obesity | Last readout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survodutide | Boehringer Ingelheim | 6 of 6 complete · 7,811 enrolled | none outstanding |
| Retatrutide | Eli Lilly and Company | 4 of 9 complete · 8,757 enrolled | 2028-10 |
| CagriSema | Novo Nordisk | 5 of 12 complete · 10,594 enrolled | 2030-03-20 |
Counted from ClinicalTrials.gov on 2026-08-28, restricted to phase 3 studies registered against obesity, overweight or weight. Approval status from Drugs@FDA the same day.
Drugs not approved yet, answered
- Can I buy any of these now?
- No, at any price and through any route. None holds an approved application in Drugs@FDA, checked on 28 August 2026 — a check worth naming because the same query returns six applications for semaglutide, so the blank is an answer rather than a failed lookup. Outside a clinical trial there is no legal supply, and a compounding pharmacy cannot fill the gap either: compounding starts from an approved drug or a permitted bulk substance, and an unapproved molecule is neither.
- Which one arrives first?
- On trial evidence rather than on any announcement, survodutide — its six phase 3 trials in obesity have all completed, so nothing is outstanding. Retatrutide still has five running to October 2028 and CagriSema six running to March 2030. None of that is an approval date, because a sponsor can file on part of a programme and a regulator takes its own time. What the registry rules out is the near term for two of the three.
- Why do these have no price here when everything else does?
- Because there isn't one. A price on this site is read from a seller's own page with the date it was read; an unapproved drug has no seller and no page. Any figure you see quoted for these is a forecast or an invention. When one is approved and sold it gets a card like the rest, with the same sourcing.
What you can buy today
Last updated 2026-08-28 — trial registry and Drugs@FDA checked