Ozempic needs to be refrigerated until its first use. The label says a new pen goes in the refrigerator at 36°F to 46°F. Kept there, it lasts to the expiration date printed on it[1]. It is the brand form of semaglutide.
Once a pen has been used, the rule relaxes. The pen can be kept for 56 days at 59°F to 86°F or in the refrigerator, whichever suits[1]. After 56 days it goes in the trash, even with medicine still inside[1].
| Form | Unused | In use or out of the fridge |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-dose pen | Refrigerator, 36°F to 46°F, until the expiration date | 56 days after first use, at 59°F to 86°F or refrigerated |
| Single-dose prefilled syringe | Refrigerator, 36°F to 46°F, until the expiration date | If needed, up to 28 days at 46°F to 86°F |
The unused pen has no room-temperature allowance
The storage table in the label lists one condition for a pen before first use: refrigerated[1]. It prints no number of days that a new, unused pen may spend on a counter[1].
So a spare pen belongs in the fridge, inside its carton, until the day it is started. The label says to keep it in the original carton[1]. It also says to keep it away from the cooling element, where it could freeze[1].
Lilly’s drug is different. Its unopened pens do get days at room temperature, as how long can Zepbound be out of the fridge shows.
Why the 56 days rarely cost anything
An in-use pen has a 56-day clock that starts at the first injection[1]. Every Ozempic pen holds a fixed number of weekly doses. The question is whether they run out before the clock does.
A 1 mg or 2 mg pen holds four doses[1]. Taken weekly from day 1, the last one falls on day 22. The starter pen can give six doses: four of 0.25 mg, then two of 0.5 mg[1]. Its last dose falls on day 36.
Both finish well inside 56 days. On a weekly schedule, keeping an opened pen at room temperature costs nothing. The dose-by-dose math of the starter pen is in how many 0.5 mg doses are in an Ozempic pen.
The prefilled syringe gets 28 days
The label also lists Ozempic in single-dose prefilled syringes[1]. They come in 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg, four to a carton[1]. Their storage rule is separate from the pen’s.
A syringe is stored refrigerated. If needed, it can be kept at 46°F to 86°F for up to 28 days[1]. Each syringe is discarded after its one use[1].
Too hot, or frozen
The label’s warm limit is 86°F, and it asks that Ozempic be protected from excessive heat and sunlight[1]. It gives no allowance for a pen that got hotter than that.
Freezing has a firm answer. The label says not to freeze Ozempic and not to use it if it has been frozen[1]. The patient instructions add that a pen should not sit directly next to the fridge’s cooling element[1].
What a spoiled pen costs
Novo prices self-pay Ozempic by the month, and it defines a month as one box holding one pen[2]. NovoCare’s terms call that one box a 28-day supply[3]. So a pen ruined before it is opened is a whole month gone.
| Pen | Doses lost | Replacement pen | Per lost dose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg pen | 4 | $349 | $87.25 |
| 1 mg pen | 4 | $349 | $87.25 |
| 2 mg pen | 4 | $499 | $124.75 |
$349
Replace a 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg or 1 mg pen
Source: Novo Nordisk
$499
Replace a 2 mg pen
Source: Novo Nordisk
56 days
In-use limit, room temperature or fridge
Source: FDA label
New self-pay patients can pay $199 a month for the first 2 fills at the starting doses[2]. That is an introductory offer, so the table uses the standing price a replacement pen would cost after it.
With commercial coverage, the copay card can bring a month to as little as $25[2]. Its savings are capped each month[2]. Every price, including the pill, is in the Ozempic cost guide. What the plan itself pays is covered in does insurance cover Ozempic.
Traveling with Ozempic
For a trip, the pen already in use is the easy one to carry. It can ride at room temperature for the rest of its 56 days[1]. It just has to stay at 86°F or below[1].
A spare pen is the harder one. With no room-temperature allowance before first use[1], it needs to stay cold for the whole journey. Airport rules for injectables are in can you fly with peptides.
Before a pen leaves the fridge
- Is this pen already in use, or still new?
- If in use, what date did the first injection happen, and where is day 56?
- Will it stay between 59°F and 86°F the whole time it is out?
- Is the needle off and the cap on?
Compounded semaglutide is a different product, stored by its own pharmacy label. What it costs is on the semaglutide price board.