GLP-1 medication is a prescription-only medicine in Singapore that turns down appetite. At GetLean, Dr Quek prescribes it where clinically appropriate, inside a doctor-led programme: S$20 consult, Oral GLP-1 programme from S$288 a month (S$388 depending on dose), Injectable GLP-1 programme from S$488 a month (S$788 depending on dose, S$1,088 at the max dose), medication included. Book your consult.
What is GLP-1?
GLP-1 is glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone your gut releases after you eat, and a GLP-1 medication is a prescription medicine that activates the receptor for it. In weight management its main effect is on appetite (Drucker 2018). The medicines registered in Singapore for weight management include tirzepatide and semaglutide injection (Singapore NDF; Singapore NDF); tirzepatide also acts at the receptor for a second gut hormone, GIP, which is why it is called a dual agonist (prescribing information). In Singapore, tirzepatide is registered as Mounjaro, and semaglutide injection as Wegovy for weight management and as Ozempic for type 2 diabetes.
Both are injections taken once a week, at any time of day, with or without meals (semaglutide label; tirzepatide label). The only GLP-1 tablet on Singapore's register, oral semaglutide (sold as Rybelsus), is registered here for type 2 diabetes (Singapore NDF). How GLP-1 medications work explains the mechanism, and What GLP-1 medication does, and what it does not covers the whole class. Weight loss injections in Singapore compares the injections registered here.
How do GLP-1 drugs help you lose weight?
Mainly by turning down appetite, so people eat less. Measured in people, intake at a single test lunch was 35% lower on semaglutide 2.4 mg than on placebo at week 20 (Friedrichsen 2021): one test meal, not tracked daily eating.
In the large trials, adults on semaglutide 2.4 mg lost 14.9% of their body weight on average over 68 weeks, against 2.4% on placebo (STEP 1, Wilding 2021), and adults on tirzepatide 15 mg lost 20.9% over 72 weeks, against 3.1% on placebo (SURMOUNT-1, Jastreboff 2022). Everyone in those trials also had a lifestyle programme, the placebo groups lost weight too, and individual results vary and are not guaranteed.
The medication starts it, daily WhatsApp coaching builds the habits, and Dr Quek plans the taper, so the result holds.
Is GLP-1 legal in Singapore?
Yes, as a prescription medicine. Every registered semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide product here is classified Prescription Only (HSA register), and MOH has stated in Parliament that GLP-1 medicines may only be dispensed by a registered doctor or a licensed retail pharmacy against a valid prescription (MOH 2024).
Seeing a doctor online is legal too, through a clinic licensed for remote care. A first-time patient must be seen by real-time two-way video (OMS Regulations 2023), and the joint regulator circular states that medicines should not be prescribed just by getting a patient to fill in a questionnaire (Circular 87/2024). GetLean Clinic is licensed by Singapore's Ministry of Health under the Healthcare Services Act 2020, for outpatient medical service delivered remotely, and consultations are with Dr Quek, who is registered with the Singapore Medical Council. Telehealth GLP-1 treatment: the rules in Singapore sets out each rule. For the consultation steps, read Can an online doctor in Singapore prescribe GLP-1 for weight loss?.
Can I get GLP-1 without going to a doctor?
No. GLP-1 medicines are prescription-only in Singapore, and a prescription is valid here only if it is signed by a doctor registered under the Medical Registration Act 1997 (Therapeutic Products Regulations 2016). HSA has received reports of people hospitalised with severe vomiting after taking GLP-1 medicines without a prescription and medical supervision, from overseas or online (HSA 2026), and it has found weight-loss products sold online to contain sibutramine, a drug disallowed for sale in Singapore since 2010 (HSA).
You do not have to go to a clinic, though: at GetLean the doctor comes to you, by live video from home, and where a prescription is issued, the medication is delivered to your door. Compounded semaglutide and Telegram sellers: the real risk covers the channels to avoid.
How much does GLP-1 cost in Singapore?
At GetLean: S$20 consult, Oral GLP-1 programme from S$288 a month (S$388 depending on dose), Injectable GLP-1 programme from S$488 a month (S$788 depending on dose, S$1,088 at the max dose). The monthly price depends on the medication and dose Dr Quek prescribes, and it includes the medication.
The monthly fee covers doctor video consultations and ongoing medical oversight, the GLP-1 medication as prescribed and delivered, a personalised nutrition and daily activity plan, and WhatsApp support from the care team, 9am to 9pm every day, Singapore time. Outside those hours an urgent symptom does not wait for a reply: go to an emergency department, or call 995 if it is an emergency.
You get your S$20 back if Dr Quek decides GLP-1 medication is not right for you. Billing is monthly, and there is no lock-in: the programme can be cancelled at any time. After the taper, the daily WhatsApp coaching and a monthly review consultation with Dr Quek can continue for S$88 a month, without medication. It is optional.
What MediSave and insurance cover for weight-loss treatment is set out in Does MediSave or insurance cover GLP-1 for weight loss in Singapore?, and the pricing page has the details.
Will a doctor prescribe GLP-1 for weight loss?
Yes, where it is clinically appropriate: a doctor in Singapore assesses you first, and a consultation does not guarantee a prescription. At GetLean that doctor is Dr Quek, and it works in five steps, all from home:
- Book your consult.
- A 30-minute video consultation with Dr Quek. It is a live video call on Google Meet. Dr Quek reviews your history and goals and decides whether the programme is suitable for you. If he decides medication is not right for you, we refund your consultation fee in full.
- Prescription and delivery. Where a prescription is issued, the medication is delivered discreetly to your door, and first delivery is typically the next working day after your consultation.
- Daily coaching on WhatsApp. A personalised nutrition and daily activity plan, and daily WhatsApp coaching: send a photo or description of a meal and the assistant estimates the calories and protein and shows what is left for the day. The assistant gives no medical, nutrition or dosing advice; anything clinical goes to Dr Quek.
- Monthly reviews, and a planned exit. Dr Quek reviews how it is going every month, and dose changes are made at that check-in, towards the lowest effective dose. The plan for coming off, the GetLean GLP-1 Taper Plan, is set from your first consultation.
Our criteria are a BMI of 25 or more. Anyone can book the first consultation and Dr Quek decides there whether a GLP-1 medication suits you. We explain how the BMI figures work in eligibility and BMI thresholds for Asian adults. You must be at least 18 years old and resident in Singapore. New to GLP-1 and already on it with another doctor are both welcome: tell us your medication and dose, and where it is clinically appropriate, an existing dose can typically be continued rather than restarted (how switching works).
Want to see an online doctor about GLP-1? Book your consult for a S$20 video consultation with Dr Quek. Book your consult
Is GLP-1 the same as Ozempic?
No: GLP-1 is a class of medicines, not one medicine. Ozempic is one of them: the lower-dose semaglutide injection, registered in Singapore for type 2 diabetes only, with no registered weight-management indication here (NDF). The same molecule at 2.4 mg (sold as Wegovy) is registered here as an injection for weight management (HSA register), and tirzepatide (sold as Mounjaro) is a different medicine that acts at the GLP-1 receptor and also at the GIP receptor (prescribing information). Wegovy vs Ozempic and Mounjaro vs Ozempic set out how each compares with Ozempic, and Saxenda in Singapore covers liraglutide, a once-daily GLP-1 injection.
Prescribing a diabetes-only product for weight is off-label: a decision only a doctor who has assessed you can make, and one they may decide against. GetLean carries only GLP-1 medications approved by Singapore's Health Sciences Authority, such as Rybelsus, Wegovy and Mounjaro, and whether medication is appropriate for you, and which one, is decided by Dr Quek at your consultation.
Which GLP-1 is best for weight loss?
There is no single best one for everyone: which medicine suits a person, if any does, is decided by the doctor who assesses them. In SURMOUNT-5, a trial that compared tirzepatide with semaglutide directly, 751 adults with obesity and without type 2 diabetes lost 20.2% of their body weight on average on tirzepatide (Mounjaro) and 13.7% on semaglutide (Wegovy) by week 72 (Aronne 2025). The trial was open-label, and individual results vary and are not guaranteed.
Side effects, other health conditions, whether an injection or a tablet suits you, and what is registered here all weigh in. Wegovy vs Mounjaro: which works better? The SURMOUNT-5 head-to-head sets out the trial. That choice is what your consultation with Dr Quek is for, and at every monthly check-in he decides with you whether to continue, adjust or stop.
Who cannot take GLP-1?
Anyone allergic to the medicine or any of its ingredients: hypersensitivity is the formal contraindication in Singapore's registered product information (NDF). The US prescribing information adds a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2 (prescribing information). It is also stopped in pregnancy: the product information instructs discontinuing when pregnancy is recognised, and for semaglutide, stopping at least two months before a planned pregnancy (pregnancy sections).
A doctor screens for these, and for a wider set of factors, before prescribing. That is exactly what your consultation with Dr Quek is for: nothing is prescribed or dispensed before he has assessed you. Who should not take GLP-1? goes through each one.
How to stop GLP-1?
With the doctor who prescribed it, stepping the dose down rather than stopping it overnight, and never on your own. When the STEP 1 extension stopped semaglutide overnight, the 327 adults followed regained, on average, about two-thirds of their lost weight within a year (Wilding 2022).
At GetLean the programme is designed to end, from day one. The plan for coming off is the GetLean GLP-1 Taper Plan: after hitting your goal weight with the right nutrition and exercise habits built, the dose is stepped down at Dr Quek's monthly reviews towards your lowest effective dose and, where clinically appropriate, off the medication. What is the GetLean GLP-1 Taper Plan? sets out its three stages, and How to come off GLP-1 in Singapore covers stopping and tapering in full. At GetLean, microdosing means taking the medicine below its labelled dose or schedule, and the GetLean GLP-1 Taper Plan gets you there in two ways, and often uses both: GLP-1 microdosing at GetLean, step by step. After the taper, a patient can keep the daily WhatsApp coaching and the monthly reviews with Dr Quek by continuing the monthly subscription, if they wish. If you are choosing a clinic for that process, read which Singapore clinic helps you taper off GLP-1.
When will retatrutide be available in Singapore?
No date has been set. The timetable Lilly has announced names the United States: a Biologics License Application to the FDA in the first quarter of 2027 (Lilly, July 2026). A US decision would not register the medicine here; that is a separate decision by Singapore's Health Sciences Authority. Orforglipron (Foundayo), a daily GLP-1 tablet, is approved in the United States and the United Kingdom but is not registered in Singapore (HSA register; MHRA).
Retatrutide and orforglipron are not registered in Singapore, and GetLean does not prescribe or supply them. GetLean does prescribe and supply HSA-registered GLP-1 medications, after a consultation with Dr Quek. Retatrutide (reta) in Singapore and New weight-loss medicines in Singapore track where each one stands. Two comparisons set out the trial results so far: Is Reta stronger than Mounjaro? for the injections, and Foundayo vs Wegovy pill: which works better? for the tablets.
GLP-1 medication is prescription-only and is dispensed solely where clinically appropriate, as determined by Dr Quek. Clinical-trial figures describe the populations that were studied; individual results vary and are not guaranteed. This page describes how the service works and is not medical advice.