Weight loss treatment Wegovy won’t be available on NHS until 2025

Supply shortages of weight loss jab Wegovy are likely to continue for at 18 months, meaning the NHS[1] rollout of the semaglutide-based drug will reportedly have to wait until 2025. Though production has been ramped up since the injections became incredibly popular, due to high profile figures crediting their weight loss to the drug, there still isn't enough.

Semaglutide-based medicine has been available in the UK since 2019 as a prescription drug for diabetes, under the brand name Ozempic. However, the drug is not identified for weight loss. Instead, it's Wegovy which is designed for treating obesity specifically.

The UK's medicine regulator authorised Wegovy as a weight loss treatment back in September 2021. While in March this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the injections be prescribed on the NHS in a push to relieve pressure on the service from obesity related treatment.

The move even had backing from the Government. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said GPs could soon offer the injections to patients rather than having to go through a specialist.

This would be for people with at least one weight-related health condition, as well as those who have a body mass index (BMI), which is near the top of the obese range. However, this will have to wait as production struggles to keep up with demand.

Novo Nordisk, the manufacturers of Wegovy, say ongoing supply issues are officially expected to last at least a year. But it will take around 18 months to fully clear from the backlog. It comes after people with type 2 diabetes complained of Ozempic shortages, as those looking to lose weight choose to go for the medicine "off-label", meaning getting hold of a drug for use other than what it is prescribed for.

Wegovy's popularity is sure to grow even larger thanks to a five-year study from Novo Nordisk, which claimed the jabs can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke in obese people with cardiovascular disease by a fifth. As part of its trial, the company recruited 17,604 adults over the age of 45 from across 41 countries.

References

  1. ^ NHS (www.nottinghampost.com)