BMJ Open compares carbon footprint estimates for oral semaglutide tablets

The wire

1. 01Annualised medicine carbon footprint estimates for Rybelsus were 8.9, 20.0 and 39.3 kg CO2e per year at 3, 7 and 14 mg, versus EU life-cycle assessment figures of 17.0, 25.2 and 39.9 kg CO2e.
2. 02Mean symmetric difference was -29%, widening to -62.6% at 3 mg, where fixed device, excipient and packaging emissions weigh more heavily per unit of active drug.
3. 03Authors say the findings are specific to the Rybelsus formulation and may not generalise to other semaglutide formulations or GLP-1 receptor agonists; boundaries between methods remain unharmonised.

From the source

Estimating the carbon footprint of oral semaglutide (Rybelsus): a comparative analysis of the medicine carbon footprint model and manufacturer life-cycle assessment in pharmaceutical production

BMJ open · 2026 Sep 24 · Hansell L, Zhu W, Lynch M et al.