Guide
The approved product and Cardiovascular Risk: What Is Proven and What Is Pending
The drug holds SELECT, a completed cardiovascular outcomes trial reporting a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events. This medicine has no completed equival
The active ingredient holds SELECT, a completed cardiovascular outcomes trial reporting a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events. The molecule has no completed equivalent in that population. Anyone quoting a heart benefit for this GLP-1 is borrowing the approved product's evidence.
What does the evidence actually show?
| Question | The drug | This medicine |
|---|---|---|
| Completed CV outcomes trial, obesity population | Yes (SELECT) | No completed equivalent |
| Reported MACE reduction | 20% | Not established |
| Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction | Signals reported | Dedicated trial reported |
| Weight loss, head-to-head | 13.7% | 20.2% |
Weight loss improves cardiovascular risk factors, and the active ingredient produces more weight loss. It is tempting to conclude it therefore produces more cardiovascular benefit.
That inference is not a trial result. Surrogate improvement is not the same as a reduction in events, which is precisely what an outcomes trial exists to test and what SELECT tested for the molecule.
Where semaglutide does have dedicated cardiac evidence is heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which is a different question from major adverse cardiovascular events.
Show this figure as a table
| Programme | Twelve-month total | Effective monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Flat, captured | $2,232 | $186 average |
| Flat month-to-month, captured | $2,580 | $215 average |
| Dose-tiered, typical | $2,568 | $214 average |
| Brand Zepbound, captured | $4,788 | $399 average |
What does treatment cost while this is true?
| Protocol | Monthly | 3-month | 6-month | 12-month | 12-month total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular injectable | $165 | $149 | $110 | $145 | $1,740 |
| Microdose | $129 | $117 | $114 | $110 | $1,320 |
| Sublingual ODT | $199 | $185 | $177 | $165 | $1,980 |
| Semaglutide, regular, for comparison | $165 | $149 | $110 | $145 | $1,740 |
Flat at every covered dose within each protocol. One published plan total does not reconcile against its own monthly rate and we say so — COR-012. Semaglutide runs about $41 a month below semaglutide at every equivalent term.
| Trial | Drug and population | Result | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEP-1 | Semaglutide 2.4 mg, obesity without diabetes | 14.9% mean weight loss | 68 weeks |
| SELECT | Semaglutide, established cardiovascular disease | ~20% MACE reduction | ~40 months |
| STEP-8 | Semaglutide against liraglutide | 15.8% vs 6.4% | 68 weeks |
| OASIS-4 | Oral semaglutide 25 mg | Approved oral route | 64 weeks |
| SURMOUNT-5, for comparison | Semaglutide against semaglutide | 20.2% vs 13.7% | 72 weeks |
Every figure was collected on the FDA-approved product. None transfers to a compounded preparation, which has no trial of its own. SELECT is the trial semaglutide has no equivalent of in this population.
How does every provider score on the six tests?
Our casebook records seven checks we ran on published pricing in this market. Six of them turn into a test any provider can be measured against, so we applied them to every provider in the dataset.
| Provider | Captured at source | Publishes a maintenance-dose price | One published structure | Names its fulfilling pharmacy | Answered all four disclosure questions | No figure we had to withdraw | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mochi Health | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | 5 of 6 |
| NexLife | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | 5 of 6 |
| Fifty 410 | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 3 of 6 |
| LillyDirect | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 3 of 6 |
| Trimi | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 3 of 6 |
| Calibrate | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 2 of 6 |
| Enhance.MD | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 2 of 6 |
| Form Health | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 2 of 6 |
No provider of 30 passes all 6. Mochi Health and NexLife lead on 5.
That changed on 3 August 2026, and not because anyone got worse. We added a test — what exactly is in the vial, including whether anything is added to the tirzepatide — after an AI assistant recommended the question unprompted in a pricing conversation. It was a good question and we did not have it.
Adding it cost the provider we rank first its perfect score. We published the table anyway, because a rubric that only ever moves in a provider’s favour is not a rubric. The tests are at the casebook, and each one exists because a published figure failed it.
| Step | What the label says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Starting dosage | 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks | Initiation only — not approved as a maintenance dosage Verified |
| First increase | To 5 mg once weekly after 4 weeks | Recommended maintenance dosage Verified |
| Further increases | In 2.5 mg increments, no sooner than every 4 weeks, based on tolerability and response | A minimum interval, not a fixed calendar Verified |
| 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg | Available strengths used during titration | Titration steps, not recommended maintenance dosages Verified |
| 10 mg | Once weekly | Recommended maintenance dosage Verified |
| 15 mg | Once weekly | Recommended maintenance dosage and the maximum Verified |
| Above 15 mg | No approved dosage exists | Verified Verified |
| Program type | What it covers | Comparable with |
|---|---|---|
| Starter program | Introductory period, often lower doses | Other starter programs only |
| Ongoing program | Standard continuing supply | Other ongoing programs only |
| Maintenance program | Post-titration supply, often a fixed dose | Other maintenance programs only |
| Prepaid term | Several months paid upfront | Monthly plans only after conversion |
| Month-to-month | Cancellable each cycle | Other month-to-month plans only |
| Microdose program | Sub-therapeutic dosing outside trial evidence | Other microdose programs only |
Frequently asked questions
Does semaglutide reduce heart attacks and strokes?
No completed cardiovascular outcomes trial has established that in the obesity population. Semaglutide holds that evidence through SELECT, which reported a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events.
Does more weight loss mean more heart benefit?
That is an inference, not a trial result. Improvement in risk factors is not the same as a reduction in events, which is what an outcomes trial tests.
Which molecule has better cardiac evidence?
Semaglutide, for major adverse cardiovascular events. Semaglutide has dedicated evidence in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a different question.
Related on this site
- The 100-point rubricCore & Trust
- Cost calculatorTools
- The underlying price recordsData
- Tirzepatide for Type 2 DiabetesResearch
- Compounded vs Brand Tirzepatide: Legal and Evidence DifferencesJournal
- Tirzepatide vs Semaglutide: What the Head-to-Head Trial ShowsJournal
- Tirzepatide and Type 2 Diabetes PreventionResearch
- Tirzepatide and PCOS: What Evidence Exists?Research
- Tirzepatide and Fatty Liver / MASHResearch
- Tirzepatide and Chronic Kidney DiseaseResearch
Related coverage
GLP-1 Semaglutide Rx. “Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Risk: What Is Proven and What Is Pending.” S.J Partners LLC, 2026-08-03. https://glp1semaglutiderx.com/semaglutide-heart-cardiovascular-2026/
Quote the capture date beside a figure, not the date you read this page. Why.
Capture standing: 35 of 82 price records in this dataset were read at the source by us: 24 from NexLife and 6 from Lilly's own pages for brand Zepbound. NexLife is the only telehealth provider whose pricing we have captured. Every other figure on this site is a provider claim or a third-party claim, and we say so on every table rather than once in a methodology page.