Latest news with #GLP1s
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctor reveals the best day to inject weight loss jab to avoid calorific bingeing at the weekend
Blockbuster weight loss jabs relied on by millions of slimmers could be more effective on a certain day of the week, an expert has suggested. More than a million Britons are now injecting themselves weekly with drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy—bought online or through private clinics—lured by promises of rapid results. Known collectively as GLP–1s, the once a week injections can help users lose up to a fifth of their body weight in a year and have upended the obesity treatment playbook. Now, one expert in metabolic medicine has suggested Thursday may be the optimal time to inject the drug to 'control' the urge to binge calories at the weekend. According to Dr Zoe Lees, who specialises in GLP-1s for MedExpress, this is because people 'may notice stronger effects shortly after their injection'. The injections spur weight loss by mimicking the actions of a hormone released in the gut after eating—GLP-1. As well as telling the pancreas to make more insulin, GLP-1 feeds back to the brain and makes us feel full—stopping patients from over-eating. Dr Lees told the Daily Mail: 'While some people may notice stronger effects shortly after their injection, this varies from person to person and is most noticeable early in treatment or when increasing the dose. 'Injecting on a Thursday, for example, might help some people feel more in control during weekend social events. 'However, for others it might increase the chance of side effects disrupting those plans. 'It's all about balance and choosing a day that works for your body and your routine. 'Many people may find it helpful to take their injection ahead of a rest day, such as the evening before a day off or the start of the weekend. 'This gives a buffer to manage any side effects in the early stages of treatment or when moving up a dose. 'Over time, as your body adjusts, these side effects often ease and you may not need to plan around time off as much.' According to the patient information leaflets, tucked inside Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro packaging, the drug should be injected at 'any time of day'. Instead, it advises patients to take it once a week, on the same day each week. Experts have suggested this helps maintain stable levels of the medication in the body. In the UK Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar drugs are supplied in pre-filled injector pens, with doses typically increased gradually under medical supervision. It comes as Mounjaro manufacturer Lilly yesterday revealed it would hike up the price of the drug in the UK from September, costing patients up to an extra £2,704 a year. The pharmaceutical giant also cited clinical research into the effectiveness of the injections, saying it demonstrates its 'value'. The mammoth rise also comes after US President Donald Trump complained that Americans pay more for drugs than other nations, saying they 'subsidise the health care of foreign countries'. But despite patients being eager to take the drugs, the jabs are not without side effects. Users commonly complain of nausea, constipation and diarrhoea after taking the medication. A Mail on Sunday investigation earlier this year also revealed almost 400 Brits had been hospitalised since the rollout of jabs such as Wegovy, Mounjaro and Saxenda. Some doctors also warned they were seeing patients with 'serious, life-threatening complications' including seizures, bowel obstruction and inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis. Under NHS guidelines, only patients who have a body mass index (BMI) of over 35 and at least one weight-related health problem like high blood pressure, or those who have a BMI of 30 to 34.9 and meet the criteria for referral to a specialist weight management service, should be prescribed Wegovy. UK law forbids the sale of such drugs without a prescription from a medical professional.
TechCrunch
05-08-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Linda Yaccarino joins health tech platform eMed as CEO after leaving X
Linda Yaccarino's next role after departing X as CEO will be another chief executive role at eMed Population Health, an AI startup building a tech platform for patients using GLP-1s. Yaccarino was a longtime advertising executive at NBCUniversal, but left to join X as CEO for two years, where she managed to have a positive impact on the social network's troubled ad revenue model, despite her and Elon Musk's shared approach to minimizing content moderation. Though Yaccarino does not have experience in health tech, eMed said in a press release that they sought her out for her 'undeniable ability to negotiate new partnerships' — it certainly also helps that her tenure at X made her well-known in the tech world, drawing more eyes toward the startup. eMed previously produced a tech platform that was designed to be used with at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, guiding users through the process of administering these tests properly. Now, eMed is focused on GLP-1s, the class of drugs like Ozempic, which can be used for both weight management and treatment of type II diabetes. 'To be a leader in today's healthcare marketplace, companies need to have a fearless tenacity that allows them to not only grow, but to also be brave enough to step forward and redefine an entire industry,' Yaccarino said in a press release. 'We are very well-positioned to be that tenacious leader, striving toward our ultimate goal of improving global healthcare outcomes through our groundbreaking services and platforms.'
Forbes
05-08-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Signs Point To Possible Future Medicare Coverage Of Obesity Meds
Signs are pointing in the direction of a near future in which Medicare beneficiaries will have at least some access to weight loss drugs. It's a two-pronged approach, though both pathways are independent of each other. First, there's a renewed bipartisan effort in Congress to lift the prohibition on coverage of obesity medications in Medicare. Second, the Trump administration announced the launch of a pilot project which could provide better access to obesity drugs. All things considered, however, getting the federal government program to pay for weight loss medications still won't be easy. Roughly 40% of adult Americans are considered obese. Obesity increases the risk of developing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers. Rates of obesity have been steadily rising since 1980. Medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, or GLP-1s, have become popular as weight loss therapeutics. Taken in accordance with the instructions on the label and an appropriate diet and exercise regimen, GLP-1s are effective at lowering a person's weight. But Medicare doesn't allow coverage of weight loss medications that are strictly being used for obesity. It can only pay for them if they're prescribed for a related condition, such as diabetes or heart disease. Lawmakers have resubmitted different versions of a bill to permit such coverage numerous times since 2013. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) reintroduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act this summer to 'combat the obesity crisis in the United States by providing regular screenings. The bill would also prevent diseases associated with obesity through expanded coverage of new healthcare specialists and chronic weight management medications for Medicare recipients.' However, it's this last item which would lift the 20-year prohibition on coverage that's been a limiting factor that has prevented previous versions of the legislation from passage. The cost of reimbursing these medications has often been cited as a stumbling block. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, for instance, published projections late last year that estimated it would cost Medicare a cumulative $35 billion from 2026-2034 to cover anti-obesity medications. While CBO included savings from improved health, these were not nearly sufficient to offset the costs of the medications. Part of the problem is that patients who are treated with GLP-1s discontinue such treatments at a relatively high rate. One study, for example, found that approximately 53% of patients with overweight or obesity taking semaglutide-based followed for up to a year didn't persist on treatment past two months. The cost estimates used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services assume that a relatively high percentage of patients will stop taking them shortly after beginning their regimen. And so, there are still questions about whether this latest reintroduction of TROA will be successful. Moreover, even if the proposed legislation were to pass, enactment wouldn't happen until at least two years after passage. Another route is possible, via a regulatory pathway initiated by the executive branch. At the end of its tenure, the Biden administration proposed a regulatory change that would permit coverage of obesity drugs with some restrictions. Upon taking office, the Trump administration nixed the proposal. Nevertheless, it now intends to pursue a demonstration project under authority granted by the Affordable Care Act to experiment with models that seek to improve quality of care and lower costs. Under a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation initiative, state Medicaid programs and Medicare outpatient drug (Part D) plans could soon voluntarily choose to cover obesity drugs for weight management, the Washington Post reported, citing documents from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. A Medicaid experiment would commence in Apr. 2026; Medicare in Jan. 2027. Timing for the Medicare portion of the planned model coincides with implementation of a maximum fair price for Wegovy in 2027. Together with Ozempic, another semaglutide-based product, Wegovy was selected for Medicare price negotiation earlier this year under an Inflation Reduction Act provision. Presumably, this would provide the federal government with an even lower net price than is currently attainable. Nonetheless, challenges lie ahead. The plan has not been finalized. Nor have any details been divulged. Without information on how prescription drug plans or Medicare Advantage insurers would be incentivized to sign up, it's unclear who would be interested in adding coverage. Aside from government-initiated changes, it's possible that certain commercial insurers and perhaps even some Medicaid payers will decide to revisit their coverage decisions if net costs decrease sufficiently, combined with more data showing the benefits of weight loss drugs when taken consistently and in conjunction with an appropriate nutrition regimen and physical activity. There's encouraging data in this regard which was posted in late June by the pharmacy benefits manager Prime Therapeutics. Recent initiators on high potency Wegovy and Zepbound—who started treatment in 2024—appear to be staying on their medications longer. The year-over-year persistence analysis found one-year persistence nearly doubling from 33.2% in 2021 to 62.7% in 2024. This in turn could confer improved, sustained benefits, in which case there would likely be less weight rebound upon discontinuation. But more research is needed to confirm the observed trend. Another thing that could galvanize payers towards targeted coverage is if they adopt an evidence-based approach that differentiates sub-populations by risk. All or nothing reimbursement makes little sense for insurers in both the commercial and public sectors. At current prices, most cost-effectiveness analyses fail to show cost savings except for when applied to high-risk groups, such as people with established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or severe obesity. A differentiated approach to access could also help mitigate costs for Medicare which in turn could serve as an impetus to pass legislation.
South Wales Argus
31-07-2025
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Mounjaro could help obese people control asthma says study
The drugs should be explored as a potential treatment for obese people with the respiratory condition, who are 'often resistant' to steroids, researchers said. As an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK are now using weight loss drugs. A number of types of the drug are recommended to help tackle obesity on the NHS, including semaglutide, or Wegovy, and tirzepatide, or Mounjaro. Weight-loss jabs, also known as glucagon-like peptide1 receptor-agonists (GLP1-RAs), work by mimicing the hormone GLP-1 to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels. They were initially developed as a treatment for people with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have suggested the drugs may slash the risk of illnesses like dementia and stroke, with an international team of experts exploring their potential impact on obese people with asthma. Professor David Price, University of Aberdeen chair in primary care respiratory medicine, said: 'People with obesity and asthma are unique in that they are often resistant to steroid treatments. 'We know that GLP1s work on inflammatory responses in the airways in a different way to traditionally used steroids.' For the study, published in Advances in Therapy, researchers analysed the records of 10,111 people on GLP1-RAs and 50,555 people who were not on the drugs. 📢Important update Eligible people in #Dorset will be able to access Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) weight management medication from autumn 2025. ✅Around 1,000 people in Dorset will qualify under strict national criteria ✅No need to contact your doctor More: — NHS Dorset (@NHSDorset) June 23, 2025 After a follow-up period, the team found that those taking weight-loss jabs lost more weight and had improved asthma control. Researchers said the findings suggest medics 'should pay attention to the relationship between GLP-1 RA and the risk of respiratory diseases'. Prof Price added: 'We found compelling evidence that GLP1s, as well as increasing weight loss, also improved asthma symptoms. 'In addition, it is important to note that the benefits to asthma symptoms occurred despite fairly modest weight loss of around 0.9kg over the course of the year. 'Our findings suggest that GLP1s may have beneficial effects on asthma control for people with obesity and this should be explored further.' Prof Alan Kaplan, chairperson of the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada and the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute, said: 'Our findings suggest that GLP1-RAs have benefits on asthma control in people with obesity, and this information should contribute to the discussions around the decision to use these drugs.' Dr Erika Kennington, head of research and innovation at Asthma and Lung UK, said: 'Research has previously shown that people living with obesity who lose weight see improved control of their asthma, so it's encouraging to see this study show this is still the case when the weight loss is driven by drugs, like the new class of weight loss drugs. 'Although exercise can help people lose weight, for some people it can cause anxiety about becoming breathless or having an asthma attack, so people are stuck in a vicious cycle of not being able to lose weight and their asthma worsening. Recommended reading: 'Therefore, where exercise hasn't worked for someone these drugs that support weight loss could offer a promising alternative. 'It's too early to say whether these drugs would be effective for people with asthma more widely. 'More research is needed to understand how these drugs actually improve asthma control. Funding for lung health research is on life support and urgent action is needed to increase investment.' Who is eligible for Mounjaro on the NHS? At the moment, the rules are very strict, and treatment is being rolled out gradually by NHS England. NICE has recommended tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for weight management for eligible adults living with obesity, who also present with other weight-related health problems, including: dyslipidaemia (abnormal fat levels in the blood) hypertension (high blood pressure) obstructive sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep) cardiovascular disease (heart and blood vessel disease) type 2 diabetes mellitus Speak to your doctor for more information.
Daily Mail
28-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Mounjaro users panic about going 'cold turkey' - as pharmacists warn slimming jab stocks could run out
People currently taking weight loss jabs have raised their concerns about going 'cold turkey'—amid pharmacists' warning of potential shortages. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents more than 6,000 independent community pharmacies says that the current booming demand for the medication, which includes Mounjaro and Wegovy, may become unsustainable. Their warning came after a recent poll of over 2,000 people showed an increasing demand for private and NHS -backed weight loss services. GPs in the UK are now allowed to prescribe the drugs, collectively known as GLP-1s, for the first time in a bid to tackle the nation's obesity crisis. An estimated 1.5 million people are now using weight loss jabs through the NHS or private clinics, while millions more are eligible. The recent NDA poll revealed a fifth of participants had attempted to access weight loss treatments in the last year. This figure rose to 35 per cent for those aged between 16 and 34, compared to only seven per cent of those over 55. In their warning, NPA chairman Olivier Picard said: 'Weight loss jabs are one of the biggest drug innovations this century, but growing demand for weight loss treatment highlights the need to make sure this is appropriate from those who want it. 'It's clear from polling that many more people are interested in getting weight loss jabs than would actually be suitable for treatment. 'We want to make sure supplies are carefully managed so that those in most clinical need can benefit from weight loss medication.' They fear spiralling demand, fuelled partly by social media, could see people resort to unregulated online suppliers. These online suppliers may not be offering weight loss jabs alongside a structured programme aimed at helping them change their behaviour. The NPA is also calling for new regulations to protect patients buying weight loss medication online. They would like a full two-way consultation and a review of relevant historical medical records to be required before treatment is prescribed. Chatter amongst the jabbing community often leads to talk about coming off the drug, either willingly or because they can no longer access them. On Reddit, users have warned against stopping weight loss jabs suddenly, and rapid weight gain is always their primary concern—or warning. In one post, a woman planning to come off of Mounjaro asked for advice from anyone who had gone 'cold turkey'. The post, which was published at the beginning of July, quickly gained traction, with over 152 comments. In one, a user warned: 'Not just on my experience with MJ but other meds as well. It is a shock to the system to go cold turkey.' Another wrote: 'I stopped medicating for a vacation and gained 10lbs when I got back as MJ's half-life faded. Not fun going through weeks of medication and hard work to get back down. 'Restarting was bad because you need to re-acclimate your body to the medication which causes delay for a month too.' A third user added: 'I went cold turkey (came off for health reasons) after convincing myself I'd be fine, and hunger came back within a couple of weeks.' Meanwhile, a fourth user said: 'I haven't been able to afford it for the last two months and I voluntarily went cold turkey. Immediately gained 10lbs in the first month.' There is no evidence that stopping Mounjaro causes withdrawal symptoms in the traditional sense, says Kiran Jones, a clinical pharmacist at Oxford Online Pharmacy. But speaking to MailOnline, she explained: 'What people experience is a return to their underlying appetite regulation issues. 'These aren't withdrawal effects from the medicine itself, but rather a resurfacing of the body's natural behaviour without the GLP-1 support.' She continued: 'These medicines are generally intended for long-term use. For many people, that may mean continued use for life. 'The evidence shows that stopping treatment leads to weight regain for most people, often reversing much of the improved health progress they've made. 'It's important to say that no healthcare provider should recommend stopping Mounjaro simply because someone has reached a certain weight.' On those who may stop due to costs or concerns around supply, she said: 'Unfortunately, we don't yet have enough evidence to say what the best or safest approach to stopping looks like.' But, she added: 'Some people try gradually reducing the dose, extending time between injections, or staying on a lower maintenance dose for a set period before stopping altogether.' However, she warned: 'These approaches are based on anecdotal practice, not clinical data, and we can't recommend any one method over another.' The pharmacist also urged those stopping to speak to their providers about their policy on restarting, because, for example, she said: 'If your weight begins to creep up again, but your BMI doesn't reach 30, will they still offer treatment?' Last week, TikTok user @freyatheblondieee went viral after sharing a brutally honest video about suddenly stopping taking Mounjaro. 'Take this as a sign to NEVER go cold turkey from Mounjaro,' wrote the British content creator, while eating a burger. 'I would have done very sinister things for this burger. My hunger is out of control—I want to punch everyone who is not food in the face,' she added.
