WADA 2027 Prohibited List keeps semaglutide and tirzepatide permitted for athletes

Semaglutide and tirzepatide remain permitted in sport under the WADA 2027 Prohibited List, which takes effect on January 1, 2027. The World Anti-Doping Agency said the status of GLP 1 receptor agonists will not change next year while it waits for data on how the drugs affect athletes. Both medicines stay on its Monitoring Program, so laboratories keep tracking them. The decision dates from September and drew fresh coverage this week as athletes asked whether weight loss injections were now allowed.

What WADA decided on GLP 1 drugs

WADA's Executive Committee approved the WADA 2027 Prohibited List at its meeting on September 10, 2026, according to the agency's announcement as republished by World Rugby. The agency publishes the list three months before it enters into force so that athletes, doctors and anti-doping bodies can study the changes. On GLP 1 receptor agonists, the announcement said their status "will remain unchanged for 2027 pending further data becoming available on the possible effects on athletes who take them." In practice, semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, are not prohibited in or out of competition. A medicine that is not on the list does not need a therapeutic use exemption, so athletes with a prescription face no extra paperwork for these drugs next year.

The status comes from an expert review rather than a default. WADA said its List Expert Advisory Group examined the published scientific literature, and the drugs were discussed several times before the Executive Committee vote. Olivier Rabin, the agency's senior director of science and medicine, said "there is not enough evidence available for us to conclude with confidence" that the substances meet the criteria for inclusion. WADA added that one sport related scientific study is already under way and that it has started a second study on the effects of these drugs in athletes. The agency expects those studies to supply the data needed for a firmer decision. It did not say when results are due, and it has not said what a future change could look like.

How a substance joins the list

A substance or method goes on the list only when it meets at least two of three criteria, WADA explains. It must have, or add to, the potential to enhance performance, pose an actual or potential health risk to the athlete, or violate the spirit of sport. The debate over GLP 1 drugs turns on the first test. Weight loss can matter in sports with weight classes or where a lighter body helps, but WADA says the current evidence does not settle whether the drugs give athletes a real edge. The health risk test is also open, because the approved labels describe gut side effects and other warnings in patients, not in trained athletes who may combine the drugs with strict diets.

A substance or method goes on the list only when it meets at least two of three criteria, WADA explains.

The Monitoring Program is the step before any ban. WADA uses it to track substances that are not prohibited but that it wants to watch for patterns of misuse in sport. Laboratories report what they find in routine samples, and the data feed later list decisions. Coverage of the Monitoring Program, including a February report in EMJ, says markers of semaglutide and tirzepatide are tracked both in competition and out of competition. A finding in a sample under the Monitoring Program does not lead to a sanction. Athletes still carry strict liability for anything on the list itself, and WADA advises anyone unsure about a substance to ask their international federation or national anti-doping organisation before using it.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide on the Monitoring Program

Semaglutide was first added to the Monitoring Program in 2024, and tirzepatide joined it from January 1, 2026, according to the EMJ report on testing at this year's Winter Olympics. Both are peptide medicines approved for type 2 diabetes and for weight management in many countries, and both are widely prescribed. For the 2027 cycle the agency kept the two drugs under watch and left their status as it was. The table sets out the steps that are on record. It uses only dates stated by WADA or in the coverage of its decisions, and it leaves out claims about future bans that the agency has not made. Readers who want the trial background on the two drugs can see how tirzepatide beat semaglutide on weight loss in a direct comparison.

The two drugs sit in a very different place from peptides sold online with no approval. WADA's S0 section covers substances with no current approval for human therapeutic use, and the agency has named BPC 157 there as an example, as our explainer on why BPC 157 sits outside the pharmacy describes. Any use of an S0 substance is prohibited at all times. Semaglutide and tirzepatide, by contrast, are approved medicines with known labels, which is one reason WADA treats them through monitoring and research rather than a ban. The agency's statement also reflects the absence of firm data. Neither drug has been tested in a large trial of competitive athletes, and the studies WADA has funded are meant to close that gap.

Other changes and what comes next

The WADA 2027 Prohibited List carries several changes beyond the GLP 1 question, according to WADA's summary of major modifications. Vaginal use of glucocorticoids becomes a permitted route. The cannabinoid section now reflects current science on substances with effects like delta 9 THC and adds examples. Details on beta blockers were harmonised across the sports that ban them. The introduction now says metabolites of substances of abuse should be considered when results are managed, and the agency added examples or clarifications in the S0, S4, S5 and S8 sections. WADA also removed several substances from the Monitoring Program after data showed they no longer pose an anti-doping concern. The agency asked athletes and their support staff to read the summary to avoid using a prohibited substance by mistake.

Several steps follow before the new rules apply. WADA said an athlete and support staff guide to the 2027 list is due in December, and the digital edition of the list goes live on January 1, 2027. The list itself is reviewed every year, starting in January, with expert review and consultation before a vote. A change to the status of GLP 1 drugs would therefore come through the 2028 cycle at the earliest, and only if the studies produce clear evidence. Our regulators desk will report any WADA decision on these medicines with the primary documents linked. Until then, athletes who take either drug on prescription can do so without breaking anti-doping rules, while their samples may still be screened for monitoring.

Conclusion

The WADA 2027 Prohibited List leaves semaglutide and tirzepatide permitted, with both kept under monitoring while two studies look at their effects in athletes. WADA's own expert group found the evidence too thin to justify a ban. Athletes on these medicines face no sanction in 2027, but the status is reviewed every year. Readers should check the full list and the athlete guide when they are published.