Less than 10% of the millions eligible for the so-called “King Kong of weight loss drugs” will be able to get it in the next three years, according to guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Under final draft guidance issued by NICE, about 220,000 patients are expected to benefit from the initial three-year rollout of Mounjaro as “difficult decisions” to protect other NHS services had to be taken, officials said.
Also known as tirzepatide, the drug is a lucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, a family of medications that help manage blood sugar.
The NHS spending watchdog has recommended Mounjaro for those with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 35 and at least one weight-related illness.
They account for around 3.4 million people in England, but officials will be prioritising the initial tranche of the weight loss drug to those who are most in need – with a review after three years.
According to the latest Health Survey for England, 64% of adults were either overweight or obese in 2022, with obesity costing the NHS about £6.5bn a year and being the second biggest preventable cause of cancer.
‘Not for everybody’
Professor Jonathan Benger, chief medical officer at NICE, said: “The world will look very different in three years which is why we’ve taken the unprecedented decision to review the way this medicine is delivered to patients then.
“Tirzepatide and other drugs like it, such as semaglutide, will help people living with obesity to lose weight, and as a result will reduce their risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke.
“But tirzepatide is not for everybody, and only those with the highest clinical need will be treated initially.
“This means many people will have to wait. We have had to make this difficult decision in order to protect other vital NHS services and also to test ways of delivering this new generation of weight loss medications.”
The jab should be administered once a week and prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and exercise.
A similar weight loss drug to Mounjaro is Ozempic, as both were developed as treatments for type 2 diabetes. In terms of weight loss, in clinical trials people lost up to 20% of their body weight on Mounjaro and 15% on Ozempic (semaglutide).
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Dr Kath McCullough, NHS England’s national speciality adviser for obesity, warned: “On their own, weight loss drugs are not a magic bullet.
“They need to be prescribed by a healthcare professional alongside programmes that help people lose weight and live healthier lives by making changes to their diet and physical activity – and it’s also crucial that they are prioritised for those who need them most.”