NHS will initially limit new weight loss drug Mounjaro to 220,000 patients in England

Less than 10% of patients in England eligible for what has been dubbed the ‘King Kong of weight loss drugs’ will initially access them through the NHS after officials said they would prioritize people with the highest needs.

The “difficult decision” to roll out Mounjaro slowly over 12 years was taken “to protect other vital NHS services”, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said.

The NHS spending watchdog has recommended the jab – also known as tirzepatide and made by Eli Lilly – for people with a body mass index (BMI) over 35 and at least one weight-related illness. It is estimated that this concerns approximately 3.4 million people.

To help the NHS manage demand, Nice said around 220,000 people could benefit from the drug in an initial three-year period. After this, the situation will be assessed by Nice, which will provide further guidance on the rollout.

Mounjaro is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, a family of medications that help control blood sugar levels. In June it was given the green light to help manage obesity in the NHS as part of Nice’s draft guidelines.

The weekly jab should be prescribed alongside a low-calorie diet and exercise to help people lose weight.

Other GLP-1 agonists include semaglutide – sold under the brand names Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus.

Professor Jonathan Benger, head of Nice’s medical department, said: “The world will look very different in three years’ time. That’s why we’ve made the unprecedented decision to overhaul the way this medicine is delivered to patients.

“Tirzepatide and other similar medications, such as semaglutide, will help obese people lose weight and, as a result, reduce their risk of developing heart disease or stroke.

“But tirzepatide is not suitable for everyone, and only those with the highest clinical need will be treated initially.

“This means that many people will have to wait. We have had to make this difficult decision to protect other vital NHS services and also to test ways to deliver this new generation of weight loss medicines.”

The final draft guidance published by Nice shows that NHS England has requested that Mounjaro be rolled out over a period of twelve years.

The watchdog recommends that priority be given to patients receiving care from specialist weight management services who will have access to the drug within 90 days of the guidance being published on December 23.

NHS England will develop a plan outlining other groups of patients to be presented to Mounjaro over the next three years, according to Nice.

Prof Benger added: “We want to help NHS England carefully manage the rollout of tirzepatide to ensure other services are not disproportionately affected.

“Although the funding variation is for a maximum of twelve years, Nice will reassess the situation within three years and provide further advice on how to manage the rollout of this drug using lessons learned from the initial phase.

“This will ensure that the rollout of tirzepatide reaches everyone who is eligible in a safe and effective way.”

The latest health survey for England shows that 64% of adults were overweight or obese in 2022.

A study by Eli Lilly – known as Surmount-5 – found that patients taking tirzepatide recorded a weight loss of 20.2%, compared to 13.7% in patients given semaglutide.