# Semaglutide Dose and Dosage in the Clinical Trials > Semaglutide dose and dosage as documented in trials and labeling — the subcutaneous titration to 2.4 mg weekly, diabetes maintenance doses, and oral 3/7/14/25/50 mg schedules. Third-person, fully cited. ## Before the details This page describes the semaglutide doses that were used in published clinical trials and the approved labeling — nothing more. Every number here is third-person and study-attributed; none of it is a recommendation for any individual, and it should not be read as instructions. The quick map: the once-weekly injection is started low and stepped up over about four months to a target, to give the stomach time to adjust — weight-management trials reached 2.4 mg once weekly, while diabetes trials commonly maintained 0.5-1.0 mg weekly [1][2]. The once-daily tablet uses a much higher milligram range (3, 7, 14, and in research up to 25-50 mg) because so little is absorbed [10][11]. Below are the actual schedules the trials used, plus a note on the strict timing the tablet requires. To understand why the doses differ so much between the pill and the shot, the [oral semaglutide](/oral) page covers the absorption gap. ## Semaglutide dose: the injection schedules studied The injectable **semaglutide dose** was escalated gradually in the trials to limit nausea. For chronic weight management, the documented subcutaneous schedule stepped up roughly every four weeks: 0.25 mg once weekly for weeks 1-4, then 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg, then 1.7 mg, reaching a 2.4 mg once-weekly maintenance dose — the dose used in STEP 1 [1]. For type 2 diabetes, the subcutaneous trials started at 0.25 mg once weekly as a non-therapeutic initiation step, then moved to 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg maintenance; SUSTAIN-6 used the 0.5 and 1.0 mg doses [2], and higher-dose programs studied up to 2.0 mg weekly. The FLOW kidney trial used 1.0 mg once weekly [6]. These are the doses administered in the cited trials, reported in the third person. ## Semaglutide dosage: the oral tablet schedules studied The oral **semaglutide dosage** range is different because the tablet's absorption is so low. In type 2 diabetes, PIONEER 1 established once-daily oral doses of 3 mg, 7 mg, and 14 mg, with the 3 mg step used for the first 30 days as an initiation dose before moving up [11]. PIONEER PLUS then studied higher once-daily oral doses of 25 mg and 50 mg, which improved glycemic control and weight versus the 14 mg dose [10]. For weight management without diabetes, the OASIS program tested 50 mg once daily [9]. The documented administration rule for the tablet is part of its pharmacology: it is taken on an empty stomach, about 30 minutes before the first food, drink, or other oral medicine, with no more than a small amount of water [8]. That's a property of the SNAC formulation, presented here as a documented fact rather than a direction to any reader. ## Investigational and high-dose research Research has continued past the currently approved doses. An investigational high-dose obesity program (STEP UP) studied 7.2 mg once weekly subcutaneously, above the 2.4 mg maintenance dose used in the original STEP weight trials [1]. On the oral side, the 25 mg and 50 mg once-daily doses from PIONEER PLUS and OASIS represent the upper end of what's been studied for the tablet [9][10]. These investigational doses are included to show the shape of the research, not to suggest any target. As with everything on this page, they describe what was administered to trial participants under study protocols — third person, cited, and never a recommendation. ## Storage and stability of the studied product A practical footnote from the labeling: commercial pre-filled injection pens are typically stored refrigerated (2-8 C) before first use, and may then be kept at room temperature (up to ~30 C) for a defined in-use period (commonly cited as up to 56 days) per the approved labeling [5]. The oral tablet is supplied co-formulated with SNAC and is not reconstituted. This is descriptive product information drawn from the literature and labeling. It is not handling guidance for any individual, and it does not address compounded or non-pharmaceutical preparations, which fall outside the approved-product evidence base discussed on the [Semaglutide effects](/effects) page [5]. --- A bright, plain-English digest of the semaglutide record that reads the daily tablet and the once-weekly shot side by side — every trial number cited and the honest downsides kept in plain sight; no clinic behind the name, no prescription filled, and nothing here dosed or sold.