Weight Loss Shot Goes On Sale Privately In The U.K.

Doctors have started prescribing a popular weight loss and diabetes drug privately in the U.K.

Eli Lilly’s injectable Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is now available anyone considered clinically obese, British tabloid MailOnline reports.

Online pharmacies My London Pharmacy and Simple Online Pharmacy are listing the drug listed for between $53 ($42) and $60 (£47.50) per starter dose.

But it isn’t yet widely available for weight loss via the public health system, which prescribes the bulk of drugs for the British public at a subsidized cost or for free.

A new wave of weight loss drugs

Tirzepatide — also sold as Zepbound in the U.S. — is one of a wave of new injectable drugs shown to have a significant impact on weight loss for many users.

Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy have already taken the market by storm, fuelled in part celebrities and social media influencers. They’ve also faced major supply shortages worldwide.

Both drugs contain semaglutide, with Ozempic marketed for Type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss alone.

The drugs can slow down the passage of food through the stomach and make users feel more full after eating. Tirzepatide works in a similar way.

They’re still intended to be used alongside a exercise and a restricted diet.

All three drugs cause potential side effects. Tirzepatide may lead to nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and constipation. It can also cause low blood sugar in people with diabetes.

Approved but not widely available for weight loss

The U.K.’s health regulator, the Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency, approved tirzepatide for the management of both Type 2 diabetes and obesity last fall. In January, it also gave the green light to a four-dose ‘Kwikpen’ version.

But regulation and recommendation are two different things in the U.K.

Drugs and medical devices usually need to be shown to be cost effective before they’re prescribed at scale through the country’s National Health Service.

This is the way most people access prescription drugs in the U.K., either for free or for a flat fee of $12.10 (£9.65) per item.

Experts at a national watchdog — the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence — are currently evaluating whether tirzepatide is worth the cost.

At the moment, the institute only recommends the drug for patients with difficult-to-manage diabetes. That’s about 180,000 people in the U.K.

The institute expects to publish guidance on the drug in May, which could pave the way for its use as a weight loss aid by the NHS.

Although injectable weight loss drugs are still new players in the U.K., lawmakers hope they’ll be a major part of public health strategy.

Obesity is linked to numerous health problems including cardiovascular disease and cancer. By reducing obesity, ministers hope they’ll see reduced rates of these potentially fatal illnesses.

Last summer, prime minister Rishi Sunak announced a $50 million (£40 million) fund for pilot programmes that would help make weight loss drug Wegovy more accessible outside of hospital settings.

“Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS,” he said at the time. “Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer by helping to tackle dangerous obesity-related health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer — reducing pressure on hospitals, supporting people to live healthier and longer lives, and helping to deliver on my priority to cut NHS waiting lists.”