NHS to hand out more fat jabs after private clinics raise prices
GPs are being braced for a surge in demand for the 'King Kong' of weight-loss jabs after Eli Lilly, the US pharmaceutical firm, said it would be more than doubling its prices from Sept 1.
Health officials have written to family doctors about an expected increase in demand from patients who had been accessing the drug privately, but will now turn to the NHS.
The Government is also looking to intervene in the dramatic price rise, it is understood, amid fears that hundreds of thousands of patients currently benefiting from losing weight on the jabs could be forced to stop taking them.
Eli Lilly said it was increasing the cost of Mounjaro – also known as tirzepatide – in the UK to bring it in line with 'other developed nations'.
In July, Donald Trump demanded that drug manufacturers lower their prices for American patients and stop other countries 'freeloading' off US firms.
The US president previously complained that a friend had the 'fat drug' in London for a fraction of its US price despite being 'the same box made in the same plant by the same company'.
Eli Lilly is increasing the wholesale price UK retailers will pay for a middle-sized 5mg dose from £92 to £180, and for the maximum dose, 15mg, from £122 to £330.
These costs are likely to be passed on to private patients, of which there are almost one million taking Mounjaro, most of whom will now face the choice of paying the increased rates or stopping the drug.
But the NHS has said it will continue prescriptions for patients who had been accessing the drugs privately if they meet certain criteria.
The health service has a commercial deal in place to roll out the jab at a cheaper price. The cost of a prescription to patients is £9.90.
A letter from NHS officials to GPs seen by The Telegraph said the NHS could continue treatment 'for people that have previously accessed tirzepatide through a private provider' if they meet eligibility criteria when assessed by a weight management service.
Under current guidance, patients must have a body mass index of 40 or more 'in addition to four or more qualifying comorbidities', such as diabetes and high blood pressure, as part of a phased rollout.
From next April, people with a BMI of 35 or more will also be able to get the jab on the NHS, with plans to eventually roll it out to more than three million.
People accessing the anti-obesity injections privately are supposed to have a BMI of more than 30, but some people have been 'cheating the system' in order to access it, according to Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary.
It is not known how many people will be eligible to move over to an NHS prescription from a private one.
There were 32,000 patients waiting for an appointment at a weight management service in the community as of the end of June.
While the majority of patients are being seen within 18 weeks, more than 2,000 have been waiting for more than a year.
NHS officials also said GPs should tell patients asking for weight-loss jabs if they are not currently eligible. This includes those who may have started treatment with a BMI of more than 40 but is now less.
'We recognise this may be disappointing for people,' the update said, adding that doctors 'could provide reassurance to the person that stopping tirzepatide, that is being taken for its licensed weight loss indication, is not known to cause withdrawal symptoms, but that they should continue, where appropriate, a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity if they want to reduce the risk of weight regain'.
It said anyone with questions about stopping the drugs should be directed back to their private provider.
More people could also turn to the other weight-loss jab available in the UK, rival brand Wegovy, made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk.
A spokesman for the company, which also makes Ozempic, said they had 'no plans of changing our offering in the UK'.
'Our focus is on supporting patients, and we are committed to ensuring that our medicines are not only innovative but also accessible and affordable for those who need them most,' they said.
'Our mission is to help create a healthier world by addressing some of the most pressing threats to public health – including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.'
A Department of Health spokesman said: 'This government is committed to ensuring that more people have access to these revolutionary drugs when needed, and crucially that they are able to so do in a safe and controlled way.
'Pricing in the private market is a matter for Eli Lilly and for private providers of weight loss and diabetes services. Eli Lilly are working with providers to maintain patient access.
'NHS commissioning of tirzepatide, based on clinical priority, is unaffected by the change in list price.'
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