Is Zepbound available in the UAE?
No. We found no sign that Zepbound is approved or sold in the UAE. Zepbound is Eli Lilly's US brand of tirzepatide for weight. In the UAE, tirzepatide is sold as Mounjaro, which the Dubai Health Authority lists as registered for obesity treatment, alongside its use in type 2 diabetes.
- GLP‑1 medicines are prescription-only in the UAE, and Abu Dhabi's Department of Health tells the public not to buy them without a prescription, online or through adverts.1,2
- Prices here are official prices to the public, from Abu Dhabi's drug list. We don't name, link or rank sellers, and nothing here is for sale.
Is Mounjaro the same medicine?
Yes. Both are tirzepatide, a weekly injection made by Eli Lilly, and Mounjaro is the name it is sold under in the UAE.3,4
The US approved Zepbound in November 2023.3 The Dubai Health Authority's 2024 obesity document says tirzepatide (Mounjaro) is "registered for obesity pharmacotherapy in UAE".4 The EU Mounjaro label covers type 2 diabetes and weight management at a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition.5 Abu Dhabi's official drug list, in force from 2 October 2026, lists tirzepatide only as Mounjaro, at AED 1,734 a KwikPen at every strength, and has no Zepbound entry.6 We searched for an Emirates Drug Establishment or Lilly source on Zepbound in the UAE and found only clinic marketing pages.
Are products sold online as Zepbound genuine?
We found no UAE registration for Zepbound, and Abu Dhabi's Department of Health warns that GLP‑1 products sold online and on social media may be fakes not registered with the Emirates Drug Establishment.2
In 2024 the Ministry of Health and Prevention found a fake Mounjaro pack in which its lab could not detect tirzepatide.7 In July 2026 the Emirates Drug Establishment said that calling a product a "peptide" does not make it an approved medicine.8 See Can I buy Ozempic without a prescription in the UAE?
What else is available for weight?
Besides Mounjaro, the UAE has Wegovy (semaglutide) as a weekly pen and a daily pill, and Foundayo (orforglipron), a daily tablet approved in April 2026.4,9,10
The UAE was the second country after the US to approve both the Wegovy pill and Foundayo.9,11 All are prescription-only.2 How they compare is in Guide 6, and the new tablet is explained in What is Foundayo?
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Related questions
Sources
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Circular 10/2025, 4 Feb 2025: alert against counterfeit Ozempic and Mounjaro sold through social media and a website; the medicines are prescription-only under UAE law; the public should buy them only with a prescription, from pharmacies, and not online or through adverts. Summarised, not reproduced. doh.gov.ae (PDF)
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Circular 48/2026, 16 Mar 2026: alert against counterfeit weight-loss products; GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide are prescription-only medicines; the products in the alert are not registered with the Emirates Drug Establishment but are sold online and on social media; report adverse reactions to the DoH Pharmacovigilance program ([email protected]). Summarised, not reproduced. doh.gov.ae (PDF)
- US FDA. Drugs@FDA: NDA 217806, Zepbound (tirzepatide), Eli Lilly, original approval 8 Nov 2023. accessdata.fda.gov
- Dubai Health Authority. Ejada Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome KPIs and Recommendations, DHA/DHIC/HEIPD/CG-12, version 2, issued 3 Sep 2024 (tirzepatide (Mounjaro) and semaglutide (Wegovy) each "registered for obesity pharmacotherapy in UAE"). isahd.ae (PDF)
- European Medicines Agency. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) product information (SmPC sections 4.1, 4.8 and 6.3: weight management at BMI ≥ 30, or ≥ 27 with a weight-related condition; nausea and diarrhoea very common; gallstones and acute pancreatitis uncommon; KwikPen after first use 30 days in a fridge or below 30 ºC). EU label; UAE label text not checked. ema.europa.eu (PDF)
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Shafafiya drug price list (Drugs.xlsx), released 26 Sep 2026, effective 2 Oct 2026: official “Package Price to Public” for each pack named here, each listed as a prescription-only medicine (“POM”). Downloaded and checked 12 Oct 2026. shafafiyaportal.doh.gov.ae (XLSX)
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Circular 208/2024, 25 Oct 2024, relaying a Ministry of Health and Prevention alert: a counterfeit Mounjaro 15 mg single-dose pen pack with English and Arabic labelling, in which the ministry's quality control lab could not identify tirzepatide. Summarised, not reproduced. doh.gov.ae (PDF)
- Gulf News. UAE weight-loss drug crackdown: 71 sources, 14 influencers face action (Emirates Drug Establishment: retatrutide "remains under clinical investigation and has not been approved ... for marketing or medical use within the UAE"; "simply describing a product as a 'peptide' does not mean it is an approved medicine"; 71 sources, 14 of them registered establishments; 14 influencers referred to the National Media Office; the public should verify "that a product is officially registered and has obtained approval from the relevant regulatory authorities"). 25 Jul 2026. gulfnews.com
- Khaleej Times. UAE approves Wegovy pill for weight loss, cardiovascular risk reduction (approved by the Emirates Drug Establishment; second country after the US; long-term weight management in adults with obesity, or overweight with weight-related conditions). 1 Jun 2026. khaleejtimes.com
- The National. UAE-approved daily weight loss pill to be made available next month (Emirates Drug Establishment approved orforglipron, brand Foundayo, "this week"; second country to authorise it; once-daily tablet; expected in pharmacies from May 2026). 4 Apr 2026. thenationalnews.com
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi expands access to innovative daily oral obesity treatment ("covered for adults eligible for the Personalised Weight Management Programme"; the UAE is "the second country globally after the United States to approve this treatment"). News release, 24 Apr 2026. doh.gov.ae
Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Apr 2027 · Report an error
How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 12 Oct 2026. Prices are official prices to the public from Abu Dhabi's drug list, never a discount, and we don't name, link or rank sellers. Figures marked as our arithmetic are worked out from those sources. It's general information, not medical advice, and religious questions are for a scholar you trust. Talk to a UAE-licensed doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write