Wegovy Pill weight-loss drug approved for use in Britain,
A blockbuster weight-loss pill has been approved for use in the UK, paving the way for millions of Britons to access the game-changing treatment.
As exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail last week, the Wegovy Pill – the tablet form of the once-weekly Wegovy injection – has been greenlit by health officials.
The decision, made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), means the pill is officially a licensed medicine in the UK and can be prescribed through private healthcare providers within weeks.
Morrisons, Boots, and Superdrug will be among the well-known high street names to sell the pills, which can help obese patients lose up to 17 per cent of their body weight in one year.
The approval does not mean that the pill will be available immediately on the NHS.
That process could still take months because the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – which decides whether medicines should be funded by the health service – claims Wegovy manufacturer Novo Nordisk has not yet made a submission to them.
It is understood that Novo Nordisk plans to meet with the UK Government to discuss rolling out the Wegovy Pill on the NHS – with the price of the drug thought to be the sticking point.
Private clinics will be able to set the price of the pill themselves. In the US, it has generally been sold for around £40 less a month than the injection.
As exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail last week , the Wegovy Pill – the tablet form of the once-weekly Wegovy injection – has been greenlit by health officials
The tablet, which is taken once per day, can be prescribed to those with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 – meaning they are classed as obese.
Patients with a BMI of between 27 and 30 – classed as overweight – who have a ‘weight-related’ medical condition, will also be allowed to access the pill privately.
Doses for the tablet range from 1.5mg to 25mg, with patients required to remain on each dose for at least one month before increasing.
Those already taking a 2.4mg injection of semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy – are allowed to switch directly to the 25mg form of the tablet.
Emil Kongshoj Larsen, executive vice president of international operations at Novo Nordisk, said the MHRA’s decision was a ‘landmark approval’ because the UK is the first European nation to approve the pill.
He added: ‘Today, around 15 million people in the UK are living with obesity, yet only a small proportion of them have access to treatment and we hope this approval supports increasing access to obesity care in the UK.
‘With the introduction of this option for weight management, we have an opportunity to support many more eligible patients. Most importantly, this gives patients another option – one that may fit their lives and help them reach their health goals.’
Demand for the tablet is now expected to soar, with experts predicting many people who were reluctant to use injections will be more willing to try an oral alternative.
Polling conducted by digital healthcare provider Numan found that around one in five people considering weight-loss medication are put off by a fear of needles.
Wegovy is already prescribed in the UK in its once-weekly injection form
Experts say another reason people prefer the tablets is that they will likely be cheaper. In the US, the Wegovy Pill costs around £225 a month while Wegovy injections are roughly £260 a month.
Interest is already high, with online providers such as Simple Online Healthcare claiming that they have a 55,000 person waiting list for the pill after our reporting last week.
Based on US prescribing trends, estimates suggest more than 120,000 UK adults could begin taking the pill privately within three months of its launch.
Asked when the treatment could become available on the NHS, a NICE spokesperson told the Mail: ‘NICE can only recommend a medicine for NHS use if a company submits it for appraisal.
‘Novo Nordisk has not made an evidence submission to NICE, so we are unable to make a recommendation on its use on the NHS at this time. We are in active dialogue with Novo Nordisk.’
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said: ‘[The Wegovy Pill] will initially be available from regulated private providers until it has undergone NICE assessment. We are exploring options on access, but no arrangements have been agreed at this stage.’
Julian Beach, executive director of healthcare quality and access at the MHRA, added: ‘Having met the MHRA’s rigorous standards of safety, quality and effectiveness, the semaglutide tablet has been approved in the UK for weight loss and weight management.
‘As with all GLP-1 receptor agonists, this is a prescription-only medication.’
Experts have hailed the pill as a ‘breakthrough’ moment for British healthcare.
Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiovascular and metabolic health at the University of Glasgow, said: ‘The approval of the once-daily oral form of Wegovy is welcome news for people living with obesity, particularly those who would prefer not to use injections.’
Danielle Brightman, clinical director at Numan, added: ‘The pill is progress and it is right to welcome this breakthrough moment. But we know that the answer to long term weight loss – with all the health benefits that brings – is about perseverance. Medication is the start, but it is support and help to change your lifestyle that makes it last.
‘Oral GLP-1s will bring more people into treatment and give patients greater choice, but they are not silver bullets. Medication must be paired with high-quality clinical care to support patients through the behaviours, habits and underlying drivers of weight gain.’
At least 1.6 million adults in the UK are thought to be using the jabs, also known as GLP-1 injections, with a further 3.3 million considering taking them.
The Wegovy Pill contains the same active ingredient, called semaglutide, as the injection.
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Trial results show that participants taking the pill lost around 17 per cent of their body weight, meaning it is slightly less effective than the jabs, which tend to trigger up to a 20.7 per cent reduction for the highest dose.
According to Novo Nordisk, the pill is taken once a day and must be swallowed on an empty stomach with a small amount of water.
Semaglutide works by reducing the body’s appetite by mimicking a hormone in the gut which is released after eating.
This, in turn, reduces hunger, and makes patients feel fuller for longer.
The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US last December, and more than 170,000 patients now take it every day. It was also approved in the United Arab Emirates last month.
After the approval of the Wegovy Pill, attention will turn to a rival pill developed by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Mounjaro.
The drug, named Orforglipron – marketed under the brand name Foundayo – has also delivered promising results in clinical trials.
Studies have shown that patients taking the highest 36mg dose lost an average of 11.2 per cent of their body weight over 72 weeks.
The drug was approved in the US in April, and a decision is set to be made for its use in Britain at a later date, making more oral options available to UK adults.
