Mounjaro could be available on prescription by Glasgow health board
Health board bosses are looking into costings around giving Mounjaro to obese patients whose health they believe could benefit from the slimming jab.
The move comes after senior officials at NHS England gave GPs permission to issue the drug to 220,000 severely overweight people with associated health problems over the next three years.
In the first year of the programme, the drug will be offered to people with a body mass index (BMI) score of over 40 who have at least four other health problems linked to obesity such as type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure; heart disease and obstructive sleep apnoea.
Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, works by regulating the user's appetite by mimicking a naturally produced hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). When we eat, GLP-1 is released and signals sent to the brain to reduce the feeling of hunger.
Currently patients in Glasgow can only access the injections through a specialist weight service or at a pharmacy, where the jabs cost around £209 per month.
Initially developed for the management of type 2 diabetes, the medication has been licensed in the UK for obesity treatment since November 2024, earning acclaim for its effectiveness in helping with rapid and substantial weight loss.
Freedom of Information requests show that 5,866 people are currently being seen by specialist weight loss services in Scotland, but doctors say the number of people who would benefit from a weight loss drug is far higher.
After the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) granted approval, there was concern that not all health boards had a weight management service model to support the recommendations - and that the potential level of uptake, along with ongoing supply issues, could pose a challenge for budgets.
Any patients being prescribed the drugs on the NHS would need to see a specialist before starting the injections.
Professor Naveed Sattar, from Glasgow University, is chair of the UK government's Obesity Mission.
He says that when such breakthrough drugs comes along - like statins did 30 years ago - they are expensive at first, but then prices start to fall, making them more widely affordable to health chiefs.
Prof Sattar believes the trend would mean medics would then be able to "widen the net" of people who could be prescribed Mounjaro on the NHS.
We previously told how Angela Brown reversed her type 2 diabetes and lost five and half stone after turning to the jags, which have also become a favourite of celebrities such as Elon Musk and singer Meghan Trainor.
Angela Brown (Image: Colin Mearns)
READ NEXT: Cumbernauld woman's surgery goal after Mounjaro weight loss
The 52-year-old gran from Cumbernauld tipped the scales at 24 stone and knew she had to quickly shed the pounds to get her health back on track.
Angela said: 'I overhauled my diet and lost six stone initially, taking me to 18 stone, but I struggled to shift the rest. I tried everything but nothing seemed to work, then after taking medical advice, I started using Mounjaro and the weight just melted away. It helped my metabolism to kick in and I lost another five and a half stone.'
A spokesperson for NHSGGC added: 'We are currently exploring prescribing and monitoring pathways for Mounjaro to patients before inclusion in the GGC formulary.'
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