Is Zepbound the same as Mounjaro?

Same molecule, same manufacturer, same six strengths from 2.5 mg to 15 mg, same four devices, same escalation rule and the same storage limits. Different labels: Zepbound (NDA217806) is approved for weight reduction and for obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity, Mounjaro (NDA215866) for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk reduction. Neither label authorises substituting one for the other, and neither carries the other’s indication.

What is the maintenance dose of Zepbound?

It depends on the indication. For weight reduction and long-term maintenance the label names 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly. For obstructive sleep apnoea it names 10 mg or 15 mg — 5 mg is not in the OSA range. The 2.5 mg starting dose is excluded from both: "The 2.5 mg dosage is for treatment initiation and is not approved as a maintenance dosage."

What is the maximum dose of Zepbound?

The label states one figure for both indications: "The maximum dosage of ZEPBOUND for all indications is 15 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly." Reaching it takes at least 20 weeks if every step is taken at the minimum four-week interval — 2.5 mg for weeks 1 to 4, then 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 mg for four weeks each, with 15 mg available from week 21 onward.

Is Zepbound approved for sleep apnoea?

Yes — "to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults with obesity." It is the only tirzepatide product with that indication; Mounjaro has no version of it. The maintenance dosage for OSA is 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly, higher than the 5 mg floor the label allows for weight reduction, so the same prescription at 5 mg would be below the range its own indication names.

Can teenagers take Zepbound?

Not under this label. Section 8.4 says in one sentence that the safety and effectiveness of ZEPBOUND have not been established in pediatric patients, with no age qualifier and no paediatric dosage anywhere in the document. Mounjaro — the same molecule in the same pen — is established in patients 10 years and older with type 2 diabetes, at up to 10 mg once weekly.

How long can a Zepbound pen stay out of the fridge?

A single-dose pen or single-dose vial can be kept unrefrigerated at up to 30 °C for a total of 21 days and is then discarded. An unopened multi-dose vial or KwikPen kept at room temperature is thrown away after 30 days. Once opened, a multi-dose vial or KwikPen is discarded at whichever comes first of 30 days at room temperature, 30 days after first use, or four weekly doses — even if medicine is left in it.

What happens if a weekly Zepbound dose is missed?

The label states: "If a dose is missed, instruct patients to administer ZEPBOUND as soon as possible within 4 days (96 hours) after the missed dose. If more than 4 days have passed, skip the missed dose and administer the next dose on the regularly scheduled day." The injection day can also be moved, provided at least 3 days (72 hours) separate two doses. That window is narrower than the 5 days the Ozempic label allows, so a rule learned on one weekly GLP-1 does not transfer.

Why is there a multi-dose vial and a single-dose pen at the same strength?

Because they are filled differently. A single-dose pen or vial holds one injection of 0.5 mL, so a 10 mg device is 20 mg/mL. A multi-dose vial or KwikPen holds four 0.6 mL injections in 2.4 mL, so a device delivering 10 mg per injection is a 40 mg/2.4 mL container labelled 16.7 mg/mL. Same weekly dose, different concentration, different discard rule — and the concentration printed on the carton belongs to the device, not to the dose.

Brand — one of two labels for one molecule

Zepbound

The identical molecule, strengths and devices as Mounjaro — with a sleep-apnoea indication Mounjaro lacks, a maintenance range that changes with the indication, and a starting dose the label refuses to let you stay on.

Molecule: tirzepatide
Manufacturer: Eli Lilly and Company
Products under this name: 1
Last reviewed: September 2026

Why a Zepbound milligram is not a Mounjaro milligram

Tirzepatide is sold in the United States as two brands from Eli Lilly. ZEPBOUND (NDA217806) is approved to reduce excess body weight and maintain that reduction long term, and to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity. MOUNJARO (NDA215866) is approved for glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes and for cardiovascular risk reduction in type 2 diabetes. Neither is approved for the other’s indications, and neither label describes a switch to the other.

Physically the two are indistinguishable. Both come as a single-dose pen, a single-dose vial, a four-dose multi-dose vial and a four-dose KwikPen, in 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 mg. Both start at 2.5 mg once weekly and rise in 2.5 mg increments after at least four weeks. Both are refrigerated, both allow 21 days out of the fridge for a single-dose device, both carry the same boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours in rodents.

What differs is what each rung means. This label names maintenance dosages and rules one dose out of them — "The 2.5 mg dosage is for treatment initiation and is not approved as a maintenance dosage" — and then splits the remainder by indication: 5, 10 or 15 mg for weight reduction, but 10 or 15 mg for obstructive sleep apnoea. The Mounjaro label contains no maintenance dosage at all; the word does not occur in it once. Two men on 5 mg of the same drug are, according to their own labels, in completely different places on their treatment.

What is true of Zepbound and not of tirzepatide

Each row is something a reader would reasonably assume belongs to the molecule, and does not. These are the facts that change when the brand name on the carton changes, while the drug inside it does not.

Attribute	Zepbound	Elsewhere, same molecule
What it is approved to treatObstructive sleep apnoea is a labelled indication of exactly one tirzepatide product, and type 2 diabetes of the other. The molecule treats neither on its own account — the approval belongs to the application, so the carton decides what the prescription is for.	Weight reduction and long-term weight maintenance in adults with obesity, or with overweight plus at least one weight-related comorbid condition; and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity.	Mounjaro, the same molecule from the same manufacturer, is approved for glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes in adults and patients aged 10 and older, and for cardiovascular risk reduction in type 2 diabetes at high risk.
Whether the maintenance dose depends on why you are taking itA man on 5 mg for weight is at a labelled maintenance dosage. A man on 5 mg for sleep apnoea is below the range his indication names, on the same pen. Reading a Zepbound dose without knowing the indication tells you less than it appears to.	It does. 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg for weight reduction; only 10 mg or 15 mg for obstructive sleep apnoea. 5 mg sits inside one maintenance range and below the other.	Mounjaro states one ladder for both of its indications and names no maintenance dosage for either, so nothing about a Mounjaro dose changes when the reason for taking it changes.
Whether the starting dose can be the ending doseThe same 2.5 mg pen is a legitimate destination under one brand and explicitly not one under the other. This is the single clearest case of a dose whose meaning is set by the label rather than by the drug.	No. The label states plainly: "The 2.5 mg dosage is for treatment initiation and is not approved as a maintenance dosage." 2.5 mg exists here only to get a patient onto the drug for four weeks.	The Mounjaro label names no maintenance dosage at all — the word "maintenance" does not occur in it once — and escalates only "if additional glycemic control is needed", so 2.5 mg can be a long-term dose there.
Whether children may take itOne molecule, one adolescent, two opposite labelled positions. The identical 10 mg pen is at the paediatric ceiling under one brand and outside the labelled population entirely under the other.	No. The safety and effectiveness of ZEPBOUND have not been established in pediatric patients, for either indication, with no age qualifier and no paediatric dosage anywhere in the label.	Mounjaro is established in patients 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes and carries its own paediatric maximum of 10 mg once weekly.
What makes the dose go upOnly one rung on either label is genuinely scheduled, and it is this one. Every other week number on both pages is the earliest a step may begin, so a patient still at 7.5 mg after six months is not behind — "at least 4 weeks" has no upper bound.	The first increase is on the calendar — "After 4 weeks, increase the dosage to 5 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly" — and every increase after that is on response and tolerability, in 2.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks.	Every Mounjaro step, including the first, is conditional: "If additional glycemic control is needed, increase the dosage in 2.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks on the current dose."
What the label does not carryThe absence is as much a brand fact as the presence. A patient with type 2 diabetes and obesity may be a candidate for either brand, and only one of the two labels claims anything about his cardiovascular risk.	No cardiovascular outcomes indication, no glycaemic-control indication, and no dosage for either.	Mounjaro carries a cardiovascular indication — reducing major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk for them — in addition to glycaemic control.

Boxed warning — risk of thyroid C-cell tumors

In both male and female rats, tirzepatide causes dose-dependent and treatment-duration-dependent thyroid C-cell tumors at clinically relevant exposures. It is unknown whether ZEPBOUND causes thyroid C-cell tumors, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), in humans as human relevance of tirzepatide-induced rodent thyroid C-cell tumors has not been determined.

Quoted from the boxed warning on the approved product label. See the full prescribing information for the complete warning.

Zepbound injection

Dosage form: Injection, solution
Route: Subcutaneous, in the abdomen, thigh or back of the upper arm
Marketing category: NDA — NDA217806
Label read: SPL version 40, effective August 28, 2026

What this product is approved to treat

—to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term in adults with obesity or adults with overweight in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition.
—to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults with obesity.

The labelled ladder

When	Dose	What the label attaches to this step
Weeks 1–4	2.5 mg once weekly	Starting dosage for all indications, held for 4 weeks. The label rules it out as a destination: "The 2.5 mg dosage is for treatment initiation and is not approved as a maintenance dosage."
Weeks 5–8	5 mg once weekly	The only step this label puts on the calendar: "After 4 weeks, increase the dosage to 5 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly." A recommended maintenance dosage for weight reduction only — the OSA maintenance range starts higher.
Weeks 9–12	7.5 mg once weekly	Escalation step: "The dosage may be increased in 2.5 mg increments, after at least 4 weeks on the current dose." The week shown is the earliest this step may begin, not a date — "at least 4 weeks" has no upper bound. Not named as a maintenance dosage for either indication; the label lists it only as a step on the way.
Weeks 13–16	10 mg once weekly	Escalation step: "The dosage may be increased in 2.5 mg increments, after at least 4 weeks on the current dose." The week shown is the earliest this step may begin, not a date — "at least 4 weeks" has no upper bound. A recommended maintenance dosage for weight reduction and for obstructive sleep apnoea.
Weeks 17–20	12.5 mg once weekly	Escalation step: "The dosage may be increased in 2.5 mg increments, after at least 4 weeks on the current dose." The week shown is the earliest this step may begin, not a date — "at least 4 weeks" has no upper bound. Not named as a maintenance dosage for either indication; the label lists it only as a step on the way.
Week 21 onward	15 mg once weekly	Escalation step: "The dosage may be increased in 2.5 mg increments, after at least 4 weeks on the current dose." The week shown is the earliest this step may begin, not a date — "at least 4 weeks" has no upper bound. A recommended maintenance dosage for weight reduction and for obstructive sleep apnoea. The ceiling: "The maximum dosage of ZEPBOUND for all indications is 15 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly."

Ceiling. One ceiling for both indications: "The maximum dosage of ZEPBOUND for all indications is 15 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly." There is no paediatric figure, because there is no paediatric use — Mounjaro, the other tirzepatide brand, states a separate 10 mg maximum for patients 10 years and older.

How it is supplied

Presentation	Total strength	Concentration	Delivers
Zepbound single-dose pen or single-dose vial	2.5 mg/0.5 mL	5 mg/mL — computed from the fill volume; section 3 prints no mg/mL for the single-dose presentations	One dose of 2.5 mg
Zepbound single-dose pen or single-dose vial	5 mg/0.5 mL	10 mg/mL — computed from the fill volume; section 3 prints no mg/mL for the single-dose presentations	One dose of 5 mg
Zepbound single-dose pen or single-dose vial	7.5 mg/0.5 mL	15 mg/mL — computed from the fill volume; section 3 prints no mg/mL for the single-dose presentations	One dose of 7.5 mg
Zepbound single-dose pen or single-dose vial	10 mg/0.5 mL	20 mg/mL — computed from the fill volume; section 3 prints no mg/mL for the single-dose presentations	One dose of 10 mg
Zepbound single-dose pen or single-dose vial	12.5 mg/0.5 mL	25 mg/mL — computed from the fill volume; section 3 prints no mg/mL for the single-dose presentations	One dose of 12.5 mg
Zepbound single-dose pen or single-dose vial	15 mg/0.5 mL	30 mg/mL — computed from the fill volume; section 3 prints no mg/mL for the single-dose presentations	One dose of 15 mg
Zepbound multi-dose vial or single-patient-use KwikPen (4 doses)	10 mg/2.4 mL	4.17 mg/mL	4 doses of 2.5 mg/0.6 mL
Zepbound multi-dose vial or single-patient-use KwikPen (4 doses)	20 mg/2.4 mL	8.33 mg/mL	4 doses of 5 mg/0.6 mL
Zepbound multi-dose vial or single-patient-use KwikPen (4 doses)	30 mg/2.4 mL	12.5 mg/mL	4 doses of 7.5 mg/0.6 mL
Zepbound multi-dose vial or single-patient-use KwikPen (4 doses)	40 mg/2.4 mL	16.7 mg/mL	4 doses of 10 mg/0.6 mL
Zepbound multi-dose vial or single-patient-use KwikPen (4 doses)	50 mg/2.4 mL	20.8 mg/mL	4 doses of 12.5 mg/0.6 mL
Zepbound multi-dose vial or single-patient-use KwikPen (4 doses)	60 mg/2.4 mL	25 mg/mL	4 doses of 15 mg/0.6 mL

Administration, as the label words it

—Administer ZEPBOUND in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
—Administer ZEPBOUND once weekly at any time of day, with or without meals.
—Inject ZEPBOUND subcutaneously in the abdomen, thigh, or another person should inject in the back of the upper arm. Rotate injection sites with each dose.
—If a dose is missed, instruct patients to administer ZEPBOUND as soon as possible within 4 days (96 hours) after the missed dose. If more than 4 days have passed, skip the missed dose and administer the next dose on the regularly scheduled day.
—The day of weekly administration can be changed, if necessary, as long as the time between the two doses is at least 3 days (72 hours).
—Instruct patients using ZEPBOUND vials to use a syringe appropriate for dose administration (e.g., a 1 mL syringe capable of measuring a 0.5 mL or 0.6 mL dose) and always use a new syringe and needle for each injection.
—ZEPBOUND KwikPen is not recommended for self-administration by those who are visually impaired.

Storage

Single-dose pen or single-dose vial: Refrigerated, 2 °C to 8 °C (36 °F to 46 °F), in the original carton to protect from light; Until expiration date
Single-dose pen or single-dose vial, if needed: Unrefrigerated, not to exceed 30 °C (86 °F); 21 days total, then discard
Multi-dose vial or KwikPen, unopened: Refrigerated 2 °C to 8 °C, or at room temperature up to 30 °C; Expiration date if refrigerated; 30 days if at room temperature
Multi-dose vial or KwikPen, after first use: Refrigerated 2 °C to 8 °C or at room temperature up to 30 °C, in the original carton; Whichever comes first: 30 days at room temperature, 30 days after first use, or 4 weekly doses

Children and adolescents

The safety and effectiveness of ZEPBOUND have not been established in pediatric patients.

This statement belongs to Zepbound injection. It is not a statement about tirzepatide, and another brand of the same molecule may say the opposite.

The same molecule under other brand names

Everything below is tirzepatide. None of it is Zepbound, and a dose from one column carried into another is not a smaller or larger version of the same instruction — it is a different product’s schedule.

Brand	Form	Approved for	Ladder	Maximum
Mounjaro	Subcutaneous, once weekly — the same four devices in the same six strengths	Glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes in adults and patients aged 10 and older; reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk	2.5 → 5 → 7.5 → 10 → 12.5 → 15 mg	15 mg once weekly in adults; 10 mg once weekly in paediatric patients

Switching between products

No switch between the two brands is authorised, and taking both is not recommended

ZEPBOUND contains tirzepatide. Coadministration with other tirzepatide-containing products or with any glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist is not recommended.

Zepbound and Mounjaro

What this page does not tell you

Price — list, cash or copay: No price appears anywhere on this page, and no price is emitted in its structured data. Zepbound pricing varies by presentation, pharmacy, insurance design and manufacturer programme, and we could not find a source for a current US figure that we could cite and re-verify the way every other number here is cited. A stale or wrong price is the most consequential thing a page like this could print, so the field is absent rather than estimated.
The BMI you need to qualify: Section 1 of the Zepbound label contains no kg/m² figure at all. It says "adults with obesity", "adults with overweight in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition" and "adults with obesity" again for sleep apnoea, and defines none of them numerically. Every BMI threshold circulating for Zepbound is an enrolment criterion from a trial in section 14, not an eligibility rule in the indication, and the two are materially different claims for a reader working out whether he qualifies.
A Zepbound-to-Mounjaro dose conversion: There is nothing to convert and nothing to state. The two brands are the same molecule at the same six strengths, so a milligram is a milligram — but neither label authorises moving a patient from one to the other, neither describes what happens when you do, and each Limitations of Use section advises against coadministration with another tirzepatide-containing product. Whether a switch is appropriate, and at what dose, is a decision no label on file supports.
How much weight or how many apnoea events to expect: The label reports results from named trials in named populations over fixed periods, every arm of which was also on a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. A mean figure lifted out of that context and printed as a headline reads as a forecast for an individual, which the label does not make. The trial results, with their populations and durations attached, are in section 14 of the SPL linked below.

Frequently asked questions

Is Zepbound the same as Mounjaro?: Same molecule, same manufacturer, same six strengths from 2.5 mg to 15 mg, same four devices, same escalation rule and the same storage limits. Different labels: Zepbound (NDA217806) is approved for weight reduction and for obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity, Mounjaro (NDA215866) for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk reduction. Neither label authorises substituting one for the other, and neither carries the other’s indication.
What is the maintenance dose of Zepbound?: It depends on the indication. For weight reduction and long-term maintenance the label names 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly. For obstructive sleep apnoea it names 10 mg or 15 mg — 5 mg is not in the OSA range. The 2.5 mg starting dose is excluded from both: "The 2.5 mg dosage is for treatment initiation and is not approved as a maintenance dosage."
What is the maximum dose of Zepbound?: The label states one figure for both indications: "The maximum dosage of ZEPBOUND for all indications is 15 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly." Reaching it takes at least 20 weeks if every step is taken at the minimum four-week interval — 2.5 mg for weeks 1 to 4, then 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 mg for four weeks each, with 15 mg available from week 21 onward.
Is Zepbound approved for sleep apnoea?: Yes — "to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults with obesity." It is the only tirzepatide product with that indication; Mounjaro has no version of it. The maintenance dosage for OSA is 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly, higher than the 5 mg floor the label allows for weight reduction, so the same prescription at 5 mg would be below the range its own indication names.
Can teenagers take Zepbound?: Not under this label. Section 8.4 says in one sentence that the safety and effectiveness of ZEPBOUND have not been established in pediatric patients, with no age qualifier and no paediatric dosage anywhere in the document. Mounjaro — the same molecule in the same pen — is established in patients 10 years and older with type 2 diabetes, at up to 10 mg once weekly.
How long can a Zepbound pen stay out of the fridge?: A single-dose pen or single-dose vial can be kept unrefrigerated at up to 30 °C for a total of 21 days and is then discarded. An unopened multi-dose vial or KwikPen kept at room temperature is thrown away after 30 days. Once opened, a multi-dose vial or KwikPen is discarded at whichever comes first of 30 days at room temperature, 30 days after first use, or four weekly doses — even if medicine is left in it.
What happens if a weekly Zepbound dose is missed?: The label states: "If a dose is missed, instruct patients to administer ZEPBOUND as soon as possible within 4 days (96 hours) after the missed dose. If more than 4 days have passed, skip the missed dose and administer the next dose on the regularly scheduled day." The injection day can also be moved, provided at least 3 days (72 hours) separate two doses. That window is narrower than the 5 days the Ozempic label allows, so a rule learned on one weekly GLP-1 does not transfer.
Why is there a multi-dose vial and a single-dose pen at the same strength?: Because they are filled differently. A single-dose pen or vial holds one injection of 0.5 mL, so a 10 mg device is 20 mg/mL. A multi-dose vial or KwikPen holds four 0.6 mL injections in 2.4 mL, so a device delivering 10 mg per injection is a 40 mg/2.4 mL container labelled 16.7 mg/mL. Same weekly dose, different concentration, different discard rule — and the concentration printed on the carton belongs to the device, not to the dose.

Sources

Next steps

Compare online weight-loss providersWho prescribes branded tirzepatide, who prescribes compounded, and what each one requires before they will.Plan a titration against the labelEnter a start date and see the earliest week each step may begin under the 2.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks on the current dose rule.

Other brands

Educational reference, not medical advice. Dose, product and whether a GLP-1 is appropriate at all are decisions for your prescriber. This page reports what two FDA labels state; it does not recommend a dose.