Foundayo (Orforglipron): Cost by Dose, Side Effects and Where to Get It

Foundayo (orforglipron) is a once-daily GLP-1 pill for weight loss that the FDA approved on April 1, 2026¹. You can take it with or without food². On LillyDirect, self-pay starts at $149 a month and reaches $299 at 9 mg and above³. In its main trial, the top dose averaged 11.1% weight loss at 72 weeks².

Unlike the Wegovy pill, Foundayo is a small molecule rather than a peptide, and Lilly says it can be taken any time of day without food or water restrictions⁴. This guide covers the price at every dose, how the dose steps up, what the trials showed, the side effects, and where you can get a prescription.

What does Foundayo cost at each dose?

Here are LillyDirect's self-pay prices in October 2026. Lilly defines a month as 30 days, and these prices need a prescription³:

Three details change what you'll actually pay:

• The 2.5 mg and 5.5 mg prices are temporary. Lilly marks both as reduced through December 31, 2026³. Budget for a possible change after that.
• The top two doses depend on refilling on time. The $299 price for 14.5 mg and 17.2 mg applies through Lilly's self-pay program only when you refill within 45 days; otherwise regular prices apply³.
• Insurance and Medicare have their own prices. If you have commercial insurance that covers Foundayo, the savings card can bring it to as little as $25 a month; government beneficiaries are excluded from the card^3,4. If you have Medicare Part D and meet the criteria, Medicare GLP-1 Bridge covers Foundayo for $50 a month⁹. Our guide to Medicare GLP-1 Bridge explains who qualifies.

At the $299 maintenance price, a year of Foundayo costs about $3,600 out of pocket.

How do you take Foundayo, and how does dosing step up?

One tablet a day, any time of day, with or without food. The label says to swallow it whole, not to break, crush or chew it, and never to take more than one tablet a day². The dose starts low and steps up, with at least 30 days at each level, to reduce stomach side effects²:

The maximum dose is 17.2 mg a day. If you miss a dose, the label says to take it as soon as possible and not to double up; after seven or more missed doses in a row, the dose escalation restarts at a lower level². Your prescriber sets your schedule, not this table.

Tell your prescriber about every other medicine you take. Some drugs that affect the liver enzyme CYP3A4 change how Foundayo works: with a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor, the label caps the dose at 9 mg².

How much weight do people lose on Foundayo?

About 7% to 11% of body weight on average, depending on the dose. The FDA label reports the 72-week results of Lilly's two main trials, counting everyone who was randomized²:

In Trial 1, 71.5% of people on 17.2 mg lost at least 5% of their body weight, against 26.8% on placebo².

Trial 1 is ATTAIN-1, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which used an earlier version of the pill at doses the label converts to 5.5, 9 and 17.2 mg⁵. Lilly's own materials quote an average of 27 pounds at the highest dose⁴, which comes from a different way of counting people who stopped treatment.

For comparison, the 25 mg Wegovy pill produced 13.6% average weight loss at 64 weeks in its main trial, OASIS 4, against 2.2% on placebo⁸. Those are separate trials with different people and lengths, so treat the gap as a rough guide rather than a head-to-head result.

What are the side effects of Foundayo?

Mostly stomach side effects, which are most common while the dose is going up. In the pooled weight-loss trials, these were the most frequent²:

Other common side effects on the label include indigestion, abdominal pain, headache, bloating, fatigue, burping, acid reflux, gas and hair loss².

Like the other GLP-1 medicines, Foundayo carries a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors. The label notes that orforglipron did not cause tumors in rodents, but the human relevance of that risk hasn't been determined, and Foundayo should not be used by anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2². The label's warnings also cover pancreatitis, severe stomach reactions, kidney injury from dehydration, gallbladder disease, low blood sugar when combined with insulin or sulfonylureas, and the risk of inhaling stomach contents under anesthesia, so tell your care team before any planned surgery or procedure².

Which telehealth providers prescribe Foundayo?

Lilly says Foundayo is available through LillyDirect, telehealth providers and retail pharmacies⁴. Of the 591 telehealth programs we track, 38 list Foundayo or orforglipron. A few that show the range:

• Found (Partner) adds an oral orforglipron option to its coaching-led program, next to compounded injectables and brand-name Wegovy. Its lowest prices need a year paid up front.
• PrideRx prescribes brand-name drugs only, including Foundayo, with fulfillment through LillyDirect and NovoCare.
• Amazon One Medical prescribes Foundayo, Wegovy and Zepbound, with no compounded products, and fills them through Amazon Pharmacy.
• PreventiveMD offers Foundayo on a membership model, with the membership billed on top of the medication.
• Hello Alpha prescribes Foundayo alongside the brand-name injectables and helps with insurance.

When you compare, separate the visit or membership fee from the medication price. Where a program charges a membership on top of the medication, as PreventiveMD does, your monthly total is the two added together. The oral GLP-1 board lists telehealth programs with pill and other needle-free options, and the LillyDirect Foundayo review covers buying directly from Lilly.

Foundayo vs. the Wegovy pill: which fits you?

They cost the same at most doses. The bigger differences are how you take them and how much weight people lost in trials:

If a morning routine on an empty stomach would be hard to keep, Foundayo's lack of food rules is the practical advantage. If you want the larger average result from a pill, the Wegovy pill's trial numbers are higher. Our injections vs. oral GLP-1 guide covers the pill-or-shot decision more broadly.

What to do next

Start with a prescription. If you already have a prescriber, LillyDirect fills Foundayo at the prices above, and you can check your insurance first in case the $25 savings card applies. If you're on Medicare, check whether you qualify for the $50 Bridge price before paying cash.

If you need a prescriber, the oral GLP-1 board lists telehealth programs with pill options and their prices. If you're open to an injection too, the brand-name GLP-1 board covers programs that prescribe Zepbound and Wegovy. The 2-minute quiz asks about budget, format and insurance, and matches you with programs that fit.