Wegovy is semaglutide. This page covers the storage of the weekly injection only. Wegovy is separately authorised as a tablet taken by mouth, and the figures below do not apply to it: if you have tablets, the leaflet in your own carton is the one to follow. For the injection, the European product information says to store it in a refrigerator between 2°C and 8°C, kept away from the cooling element, and never frozen. A pen that has been frozen should not be used.
How long it can be out of the fridge depends on which presentation you have, and the three are not the same. That is the detail most often got wrong, because a figure that is correct for one pen is wrong for another.
What the product information says
- Single-dose pre-filled pen: two years before use. It may be stored unrefrigerated for up to 28 days at no more than 30°C, and should be discarded if it has been out of the refrigerator longer than that. Keep it in its original carton, which protects it from light.
- FlexTouch pre-filled pen: three years before first use. Once in use the period is six weeks, stored either below 30°C or in a refrigerator between 2°C and 8°C. Keep the cap on when it is not in use. It may also be distributed to you at below 30°C for up to 48 hours.
- Pre-filled syringe: two years before use, with the same 28-day unrefrigerated limit at no more than 30°C, after which it should be discarded. Keep it in its original carton.
Those figures are from the European product information for Wegovy. Packs supplied outside the EU and UK can carry different instructions, so the leaflet inside your own carton is the version that applies to you. Where your leaflet and this page differ, your leaflet is right.
What to check
- The patient information leaflet that came with your specific pack, which sets out storage conditions before and after first use
- Your pharmacist, if anything in the leaflet is unclear or you are unsure how it applies to your situation, particularly around travel or interrupted refrigeration
- The expiry date printed on your pack, alongside the storage instructions, which may differ from the general shelf life once a pen is in use
A checklist worth recording
- Where you keep your current pen or pack, and whether that matches the leaflet's instructions
- The date you started using a pen that was previously stored differently, such as one you have taken out of a fridge for ongoing use
- Any questions you asked your pharmacist about storage, and what they told you, so you do not need to ask again next time
- Any occasion where storage conditions may have been interrupted, such as a fridge outage, a hot car, or a delayed delivery
- The date you collected each pack, alongside its printed expiry date, so the two are easy to check against each other
Travel and everyday disruptions
If you are travelling, or if you are ever unsure whether your Wegovy has been kept within the conditions described in its leaflet — for example, after a long delay in transit, extreme heat, or a broken fridge — do not guess whether it is still fine to use. Contact your pharmacist for advice specific to what happened, and keep a note of what occurred and when, in case it is useful for that conversation or for a replacement prescription. A short note made at the time, while details are fresh, is far more useful than trying to reconstruct what happened a week later.
If you are planning travel in advance, it is worth checking the leaflet's guidance on transport before you go, rather than after you have already packed, so you have time to ask your pharmacist any questions and arrange suitable insulated storage if that is what the instructions call for.
The safest approach to Wegovy storage is not memorising a number. It is knowing exactly where to check the real one, checking it before you need to, and keeping a short record of what you confirmed and when, so that if a question ever comes up, you already have the answer written down rather than needing to work it out under pressure.
Keeping the leaflet accessible
It is worth keeping a photo of the storage section of your leaflet, or the leaflet itself, somewhere you can find it quickly — a phone photos folder, a document scan, or a physical folder at home. Instructions read carefully once at the pharmacy counter are easy to half-remember weeks later, especially if you are managing several medicines or a change in routine at the same time. Having the actual text to hand removes the guesswork entirely.
This is a small piece of preparation that pays off precisely when you need it least expected: a fridge failure, an unplanned trip, or simply a moment of doubt about whether a pen kept in a bag for a few hours is still fine to use. Confirming with the leaflet and your pharmacist, rather than assuming, is the safer habit either way.
