Weight loss pill that helped patients shift 12% of body mass may soon be on NHS

A powerful new generation of weight-loss pill that could provide hope for millions of patients is set to be considered by regulators for NHS approval.

A trial found overweight people taking the medication lost up to almost 2st – or 12% of their body weight – after 18 months. The maker, US firm Lilly, said it will seek the go-ahead by regulators for the drug orforglipron. It could be a cheaper and easier alternative to weight-loss jabs, which have to be refrigerated.

The daily tablet is a GLP-1 agonist, which can cut appetite. Like jabs, the pill mimics the effects of hormones that make us feel full. Lilly also makes weight-loss jab Mounjaro. It comes after the NHS warned mouth symptom could be life-shortening disease.

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Kenneth Custer, of Lilly, said: “We’re working to transform obesity care with a potential once-daily oral therapy that could support early intervention and long-term disease management, while offering a convenient alternative to injectable treatments.

“We are planning to submit orforglipron for regulatory review by year-end.”

It will need to be approved as safe by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency before the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence decides if it is cost-effective for the NHS. The Mirror understands guidance is expected next year on whether it will be available on the health service.

The study found 60% of people on the highest dose of orforglipron lost at least 10% of their body weight. While 40% of people shed at least 15% of their body weight.

The study of 3,127 overweight adults also found benefits such as better cholesterol.

Lilly said the safety profile of the tablet is similar to other GLP-1 drugs, with gastrointestinal issues the most common side effect.

Dr Simon Cork, senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “These early results on the effectiveness of orforglipron in promoting clinically significant weight loss are a positive step forward in the development of this class of drugs.

“Their effects on weight loss are not as profound as that seen in [jabs].

“Nevertheless, that this medication is an oral form, rather than injectable, will likely be seen as more tolerable for many. Manufacturing costs are also anticipated to be significantly lower.”

An estimated 1.5 million people in the UK use weight-loss medication, most privately. Mounjaro was due to be rolled out across the NHS in England from June 23 for those with the highest clinical need, but a probe found only eight of 42 NHS integrated care boards are providing it at present.

Nearly half of boards say they will cap the number they treat due to lack of funding.

NHS England says the plan is for jabs to bemore widely available. Figures suggest about 29% of adults are obese.

Another new study has found GLP-1s may have other benefits such as improving Alzheimer’s and liver disease.