Weight loss jabs could be offered to fat Britons on benefits under plans to get tens of thousands back to work, a drug giant has hinted.
Wegovy is available on the NHS for obese people struggling with a weight-related condition, such as type 2 diabetes.
Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer, today confirmed it is in talks with the government over plans to ‘tackling obesity’.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of the Danish pharmaceutical titan, said it was up to ministers to decide how the once-a-week jabs were used.
It comes after leaked documents suggested Mr Jørgensen had advised officials to target people at the ‘tipping point of employability’ – where obesity was the main driver for them leaving the labor market.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of the Danish pharmaceutical titan, said it was up to ministers to decide how the once-a-week injections were used.
Semaglutide – the powerful ingredients behind Wegovy – has ushered in a new era in the war on obesity. The treatment, loved by Hollywood stars, encourages weight loss by mimicking the action of a hormone released in the gut after eating, called GLP-1.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today program whether these reports were accurate, Mr Jørgensen said: ‘Yes, we have had meetings with the British government talking generally about how to tackle obesity.
‘We have discussed partnerships in several countries where there is an open attitude towards obesity.
“I can’t comment on it specifically.”
When asked if he had discussed profiling certain groups, he said: ‘We don’t profile specific individuals, we can only talk to our products based on the approved label.
‘Then it is up to the individual healthcare systems to assess how you want to use your medicines, how you want to deliver them to certain patient groups.’
He added: ‘I have had meetings with the UK government about obesity, I cannot be more specific about it.’
Internal documents obtained by the Observer Last year it was detailed that Mr Jørgensen had told then Health Minister Steve Barclay that there was a ‘need’ to target ‘the right cohort to stimulate labor market activity, such as those at the employability tipping point, where obesity is the driving force to leave the labor market’. market’.
Pinder Sahota, corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk UK, said this could be done using “data from the Department for Work and Pensions” which “could help profile those most likely to return to the labor market ‘.
The documents, obtained through freedom of information rules, say that England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, Treasury officials and Professor John Bell, a geneticist at the University of Oxford, who oversees the partnership with Novo Nordisk, were also present.
The Department of Health said at the time that it had no plans to use data from the Department for Work and Pensions to target benefit claimants with anti-obesity drugs.
The meeting, which took place in March, was coordinated by Mr Barclay to discuss obesity care in Britain after Wegovy was recommended for use in the NHS by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the newspaper reported.
That same month, The times reported that millions of people could be given the opportunity to tackle obesity and ‘get benefit recipients back to work’.
In England, 26 percent of adults are obese – meaning their BMI is over 30 – while a further 38 percent are overweight, which is classified as a BMI between 25 and 30.
MailOnline understands that there are just 3,000 people claiming Personal Independence Benefits – benefits available to people with a long-term condition or disability – with the main condition being ‘obesity’.
However, hundreds of thousands of people are out of work because of pain, chest and breathing problems, and heart and blood pressure conditions that can be caused by weighing too much.
In England, 26 percent of adults are obese – meaning their BMI is over 30 – while a further 38 percent are overweight, which is classified as a BMI between 25 and 30
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Experts have warned that Wegovy is not a ‘magic pill’. Research has shown that users can quickly regain weight when they stop taking it, and that this can cause side effects including nausea, constipation and diarrhea.
A record 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term illness, leading to predictions that benefits could rise by £9 billion between 2019 and 2027.
When asked today whether Wegovy could boost economies by tackling obesity, Mr Jørgensen said: “I actually believe that buying drugs to treat obesity can have one of the best returns that a healthcare system can have because you’re actually preventing some comorbidities.
‘You’re also preventing type 2 diabetes and rather than treating some of the co-morbidities that come from living with obesity, there is an opportunity here in treating the underlying gateway for some of these conditions.
‘I find that a very attractive proposition.’
Semaglutide – the powerful ingredients behind Wegovy – does ushered in a new era in the war on obesity.
The treatment, loved by Hollywood stars, encourages weight loss by mimicking the action of a hormone released in the gut after eating, called GLP-1.
The GLP-1 hormone not only tells the pancreas to produce more insulin, which lowers blood sugar levels, but also sends it back to the brain and makes users feel full.
As a result, semaglutide can keep users from overeating.
In addition to using the drug, patients are advised to reduce their calories and increase their exercise levels.
Trials have shown that the drug can help people lose more than 2st, leading to it being hailed as a ‘miracle’ skinny shot.
The same key ingredient is also in Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes medication that also promotes weight loss.
Although Ozempic has been available to diabetes patients for years, Wegovy is not yet widely available in the UK due to supply issues.
The delay has led to an increase in ‘off-label’ prescribing of Ozempic to people looking to shift the balance, leaving some type 2 diabetes patients struggling to access their medication.
Shortages have also left fake versions of the prescription drugs in circulation in Britain, leaving some Britons in a coma.
Mr Jørgensen said today: ‘It is a problem for us when patients think they are getting a product from Novo Nordisk and it turns out to be a counterfeit.
“Some of the molecules, the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) in there, come from sources that are not even approved by the authorities.
‘We are working with authorities to deal with this if we become aware of it, but this sometimes happens on the internet and can be a difficult challenge.’
Although patients are eager to take the medications, it is not without side effects.
Users often complain of nausea, constipation and diarrhea after taking the medication. Less common side effects include altered taste and acute pancreatitis.
MailOnline revealed last year that Novo Nordisk was investigating whether semaglutide could increase the risk of medullary thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer.
But there is no evidence yet that they are definitely side effects, even in extremely rare cases.
The European Medicines Agency is already investigating Ozempic and similar blockbuster weight-loss jabs over concerns they could lead users to self-harm.
Health chiefs were shocked by reports from Iceland of three patients who had thoughts of self-harm and suicide after taking the injections.
Suicidal thoughts are mentioned as a possible consequence in leaflets already included in the pack.