Mounjaro (tirzepatide): effect, price and medical supervision
Mounjaro is a weekly weight loss injection containing the active ingredient tirzepatide. What it costs, per dosage and with all additional costs, which side effects it has and who it is an option for, explained factually by the Cureal medical team.
Mounjaro is available on prescription only. Whether it suits you is clarified in a medical consultation.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is the trade name for the active substance tirzepatide from Eli Lilly. It is injected under the skin once a week using a pre-filled pen (KwikPen). Tirzepatide acts on GIP and GLP-1 receptors, which makes it a dual agonist. Both gut hormones regulate satiety, appetite and how quickly the stomach empties.
In Germany, Mounjaro is approved for weight management in adults with obesity, or with overweight plus an accompanying condition, alongside a change of diet and exercise, and also for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Treatment starts at 2.5 mg and is increased step by step, usually by 2.5 mg every four weeks, up to a maintenance dose of 5, 10 or 15 mg.
In a direct comparison with semaglutide (SURMOUNT-5), the mean weight loss with Mounjaro after 72 weeks was 20.2 versus 13.7 per cent. Tolerability, price and accompanying conditions matter too.
In Germany, Mounjaro is available on prescription only. Offers without a prescription are illegal or counterfeit, and counterfeit weight loss injections have been documented. The safe route: a medical consultation, a private prescription and the pharmacy of your choice.
How well does Mounjaro work?
In the SURMOUNT-1 approval study, adults with obesity and without diabetes lost a mean of 20.9 per cent of their body weight on 15 mg tirzepatide over 72 weeks, compared with 3.1 per cent on placebo. On 5 mg it was 15.0 per cent, on 10 mg 19.5 per cent. All groups received the same lifestyle advice.
- Satiety sets in sooner, and food cravings and constant thoughts about eating subside.
- In the direct comparison (SURMOUNT-5) the tirzepatide group lost a mean of 20.2 per cent and the semaglutide group 13.7 per cent.
- The effect only lasts as long as the injection continues: after stopping, many people regain part of the weight (SURMOUNT-4).
Study averages are not a forecast for the individual case. How much weight you lose depends on your starting weight, the dose, tolerability and everyday life. Some participants discontinued the studies because of side effects.
Who is Mounjaro an option for, and who is it not for?
The approval is narrowly defined: adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related accompanying condition. Mounjaro is not a way to shed a few kilos before a holiday, and we say so in the consultation.
From a BMI of 30 kg/m² you are in the obesity range. Whether Mounjaro makes medical sense also depends on existing conditions and medicines.
At a BMI of 27 to 29.9 kg/m² it is an option if there is a weight-related condition, for example high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, a lipid metabolism disorder or sleep apnoea.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, if you are planning a pregnancy in the coming months, with type 1 diabetes, with medullary thyroid carcinoma in your own or your family history (MEN-2), after a previous inflammation of the pancreas, with eating disorders and under the age of 18.
Your BMI in 10 seconds
Enter your height and weight. You see straight away whether you are within the approved range for Mounjaro.
BMI is a rough measure and does not replace an examination. The calculation runs in your browser only.
Upwards from 2.5 mg, step by step
The dose is increased no sooner than every four weeks. Not everyone needs 15 mg: many stay on 5 or 10 mg.
How much does Mounjaro cost? Price per dosage and total costs
Depending on the dose, Mounjaro costs €206.80 to €490.01 per pen. One KwikPen holds four weekly doses, so it lasts four weeks. On top of that comes the medical treatment, at Cureal €89 for the initial consultation and €59 per follow-up appointment. Taken together, that is the total price for medication and treatment.
Prices per pen including VAT, as of 7 November 2026, checked against the prices listed by several pharmacies. Under the German Drug Price Ordinance, Mounjaro costs the same in every pharmacy in Germany, including on private prescription. The pharmacy bills the medication directly to you, Cureal earns nothing from it.
Some strengths also come in packs of three pens, which work out slightly cheaper per pen: 5 mg then costs €808.62 (€269.54 per pen), 10 mg €1,127.22 (€375.74 per pen). This only makes sense once your dose is settled.
Does health insurance pay? In the case of obesity, no. Under Section 34 of the German Social Code, Book V (SGB V), medicines for weight reduction are excluded from reimbursement as lifestyle medicines. For type 2 diabetes a prescription at the expense of statutory insurance can be possible, which the treating doctor decides. Private insurers assess this according to the policy.
Example calculation: the first 24 weeks
The dose is set by the doctor. This is how the price breaks down for a typical dose escalation from 2.5 mg to 5 mg. Higher strengths cost more; the prices per pen are shown in the table.
Medically supervised weight loss: how it works at Cureal
A real practice in Munich, video appointments across Germany. At the centre is the personal consultation with a doctor who is also allowed to turn you down if a treatment does not fit.
Choosing an appointment
You choose the medical weight loss consultation, by video or at the practice on site.
Initial consultation with the doctor
BMI, accompanying conditions, medicines, your goal. You discuss whether treatment with medication is an option at all and which one suits you.
Private prescription, pharmacy, follow-up appointment
If a treatment is an option, the doctor issues a private prescription and sends it to the pharmacy of your choice. There you collect the medication or have it delivered. We discuss the dose increase at the follow-up appointment, usually by video.
By video anywhere in Germany, in person at our practice in Munich
You have your initial consultation conveniently by video consultation or at our practice in Munich. Follow-up appointments then take place from home.
Munich
Video consultation
Which side effects does Mounjaro have?
The gastrointestinal tract is most commonly affected, especially in the weeks after each dose increase. That is precisely why the dose is increased slowly. In SURMOUNT-1, 4 to 7 per cent of the tirzepatide group discontinued the study because of side effects, compared with 3 per cent on placebo.
What you should know before the consultation
- The pen has to be kept refrigerated travelling with a cool bag
- Oral contraception can be less reliable in the first weeks after each increase use an additional method
- Other medicines are absorbed more slowly check the dose
- Before operations, inform the anaesthetic team about the treatment inform the anaesthetic team
- After stopping, weight often returns plan how you stop
Sources: Mounjaro summary of product characteristics (EMA), SURMOUNT-1 (NEJM 2022), SURMOUNT-4 (JAMA 2024), SURMOUNT-5 (NEJM 2025). This page replaces neither the package leaflet nor medical advice.
Mounjaro long-term effects: what is known, and what is not
Tirzepatide has been approved since 2022, and long-term data beyond three to four years are not yet available. The longest controlled observations (the SURMOUNT-1 extension over 176 weeks) showed no new safety signals, and the side effects remained the known gastrointestinal ones.
What is documented in the long term: those who stop generally regain weight. In SURMOUNT-4, participants who switched to placebo regained a mean of about half of the weight they had lost within a year. Obesity is a chronic condition, which is why therapy is designed for the long term.
Muscle loss: part of the weight lost is muscle mass, as with any rapid weight loss. A protein-rich diet and strength training are therefore part of the supervision, not an extra.
Thyroid: C-cell tumours occurred in animal studies; in humans this has not been documented. With medullary thyroid carcinoma in the family, Mounjaro is nevertheless excluded.
Pancreas and gallbladder: rare but serious events that can also occur after months. Persistent pain in the upper abdomen should be investigated immediately.
Still open: effect and safety over decades, effects in pregnancies during therapy, and how a planned withdrawal works best. Studies on this are under way, and we will update this page once robust data are available.
Mounjaro, Wegovy or the tablet: what sets the three apart?
Two active ingredients, three forms. Mounjaro is the most expensive of the three; since September 2026 Wegovy has also been available as a tablet. Which form suits you is ultimately decided in the medical consultation.
Which form is an option depends on the individual case: BMI and accompanying conditions, tolerability, and whether an injection or a daily tablet fits better into everyday life. Switching between the medications is possible and is medically supervised.
Frequently asked questions about Mounjaro
What patients ask us about Mounjaro, answered briefly and without a sales pitch.
Go to the medical weight loss overview
Through a medical consultation. At Cureal it takes place by video or at our practice in Munich, and the doctor checks your BMI, accompanying conditions and medicines. If a treatment is an option, the doctor sends the private prescription to your preferred pharmacy. You tell us the pharmacy, the choice remains yours, and there you collect the medication or have it delivered. What is meant here is the medical prescription for the medication, not a cooking recipe.
Depending on the dose, €206.80 (2.5 mg) to €490.01 (12.5 and 15 mg) per pen, one pen lasts four weeks. 5 mg costs €277.60, 7.5 and 10 mg €383.80. Prices are fixed by law under the German Drug Price Ordinance and identical in every pharmacy (as of 7 November 2026). On top of that, Cureal charges €89 for the initial consultation and €59 per follow-up appointment.
That depends on your maintenance dose. A year has 52 weeks, which means 13 pens. At 5 mg the medication therefore costs €3,608.80 a year, at 7.5 or 10 mg €4,989.40 and at 12.5 or 15 mg €6,370.13 (as of 7 November 2026). The first year costs a little less because the starting dose is cheaper. On top of that come the follow-up appointments at Cureal at €59 each.
No. Mounjaro is available on prescription only. Offers without a prescription from the internet are illegal or counterfeit; counterfeit weight loss injections containing the wrong active substance have surfaced several times. The safe route is a medical consultation and a private prescription.
Start at 2.5 mg once a week for four weeks, then 5 mg. If needed, the dose is increased by 2.5 mg no sooner than every four weeks, up to 15 mg. The maintenance doses are 5, 10 or 15 mg. Anyone who loses weight well on 5 mg and tolerates the dose well does not need to go higher. The doctor decides on the increase.
The reduction in appetite is usually noticeable in the first few weeks. Weight falls over months, most strongly in the first six months and then more gradually. The 20.9 per cent from SURMOUNT-1 was measured after 72 weeks on the maximum dose. You set realistic interim goals in the initial consultation.
The active substance. Mounjaro contains tirzepatide, which acts on two hormone receptors (GIP and GLP-1); Wegovy contains semaglutide, which acts on GLP-1. In the direct comparison, participants on tirzepatide lost a mean of 20.2 per cent and those on semaglutide 13.7 per cent. Both are injected weekly and both have similar side effects. Wegovy is also available as a tablet.
Not for weight loss. Under Section 34 of the German Social Code, Book V (SGB V), medicines for weight reduction are excluded from reimbursement by statutory insurers. For type 2 diabetes a prescription at the expense of statutory insurance is possible, which the treating doctor decides in line with the rules. Private insurers assess this according to the policy, so ask in advance.
The most common pattern in our consultations: appetite often becomes smaller after the first injections, nausea and constipation occur mainly in the week after a dose increase, and the weight curve flattens after a few months. Some people do not tolerate Mounjaro and switch or stop. Personal accounts on the internet are no substitute for an assessment of your case, and we deliberately do not show before-and-after pictures.
Data beyond three to four years are not yet available. The longest observations so far showed no new safety signals. It is documented that weight usually returns in part after stopping and that part of the weight lost is muscle mass. Rare serious risks affect the pancreas and the gallbladder. Details in the long-term effects section above.
Take it within four days; after that, skip the missed dose and continue on your usual weekday. Never take two doses within three days. If you have paused for more than two weeks, discuss restarting with your doctor, as it often makes sense to start again at a lower dose.
Yes, switching is possible, for example when the effect wears off or a medication is unavailable. The switch is medically supervised, because Mounjaro usually starts again at a low dose even during ongoing semaglutide therapy. Switching without a consultation is not a good idea.
Appetite returns and part of the weight comes back. In SURMOUNT-4, participants who switched to placebo regained a mean of about half of the weight they had lost within a year. That is biology, not failure. This is why stopping is planned with a doctor, usually step by step and with a plan for diet and exercise.
No, and that is the point of a real practice. The initial consultation checks whether Mounjaro is medically sensible and safe for you. If a treatment is an option, the doctor sends the private prescription to your preferred pharmacy. If not, we tell you openly and discuss what might be an option instead.
More on losing weight with medical supervision
If the weekly injection does not suit you, semaglutide is also available as a tablet. All routes start with the same initial consultation.
Which treatment is right for you? A medical consultation clarifies that.
Initial consultation €89 by video or at our practice in Munich, follow-up appointments €59. You get an honest assessment of which treatment is an option. You can read how medical supervision works at Cureal under Medical weight loss.
Medically reviewed by the Cureal medical team, as at 29 August 2026. Sources: Mounjaro summary of product characteristics (EMA), SURMOUNT-1, SURMOUNT-4, SURMOUNT-5.