A new jab designed to help people lose weight will be more widely available in the UK thanks to a multimillion-pound trial. The Government is spending £40million on the pilot scheme aimed at improving health.
Under the trial, the Wegovy (semaglutide) jab will be made easier to access for those with a body mass index of 35 or higher. The drug was approved by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) earlier this year but said it should only be made available through specialist services, such as those in hospitals.
The drug suppresses the appetite of the patient with the aim of reducing the amount of food they eat. It is hoped that the injection could help treat conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Health Secretary Steve Barclay was asked whether the Government's aim is to help millions of people lose weight and for many to potentially get back to work and off benefits. He replied: “Yes, we think this can be hugely significant. We know that obesity has very severe health consequences… the impact of obesity is very, very significant on the nation’s health.
“We also know that many people will have tried to lose weight, will have struggled to do so or, indeed, if they have lost weight, will have struggled to keep that weight off, so it’s right that we look at a range of innovations.”
He added: "And you’re right to signal there could be potential economic benefits because economic inactivity, mental health challenge, MSK (musculoskeletal conditions), various health challenges linked to obesity obviously have an impact in terms of the labour market, in terms of staff absence. But that’s not the criteria on which this pilot is being set; it has been set on health criteria, and that’s what we’re focused on.
"But from that pilot, the chief medical officer, working with the chief economist in the Treasury, will be looking at what wider benefits there may be, because there could be significant benefits economically, but the primary focus of the pilots is on tackling health conditions such as diabetes, such as mental health, such as cancer, that we know are linked to obesity."
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Under the current plans put forward by NICE, the Government estimates that only around 35,000 people would be able to gain access to the treatment. The two-year pilot aims to treat tens of thousands more.
Wegovy was approved by the NHS after research found it could help patients shed more than 10% of their body weight. Similar injections such as Ozempic and Mounjaro have yet to be approved in the UK.
