UK plans weight loss drug trials to get people back to work

The UK plans to test US firm Eli Lilly's weight-loss jab Mounjaro to help the burden on the national health care system. Over a quarter of UK adults suffered from obesity in 2023, according to government data.

The United Kingdom plans to trial the use of weight-loss drugs to help unemployed people with obesity get back to work, British Health Minister Wes Streeting said on Tuesday.

London's plans to test US firm Eli Lilly's Mounjaro jab comes amid the rising popularity of the diabetes medication Ozempic and Wegovy from Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk to treat obesity.

What else did the UK say about the Mounjaro trials?

Streeting said obesity was causing people to take an extra four sick days and was placing a huge burden on the state-run health care system, known as the NHS.

"Our widening waistbands are also placing [a] significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS 11 billion pounds [$14.4 billion/€13.2 billion] a year -— even more than smoking," he said in comments to the Telegraph newspaper.

"The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity," Streeting said, referring to new drugs for the treatment of obesity.

Streeting has announced a number of other measures tackling "unhealthy lifestyles," including a ban on advertising junk food to children.

Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said weight loss drugs were "very important for the economy so people can get back into work."

"Very important for the NHS because, as I've said time and again, yes, we need more money for our NHS, but we've got to think differently," he said in comments to the BBC.

Eli Lilly invests $365 million amid UK obesity epidemic

Streeting's comments come a day after the UK announced a $365 million investment by Eli Lilly.

The investment will include a five-year trial of Mounjaro on up to 3,000 patients, including people who are obese and unemployed.

Earlier this month, the NHS outlined a plan to give the drug to nearly a quarter of a million people over three years.

Over a quarter of British adults suffered from obesity in 2023 according to government data.

A 2022 World Health Organization report showed that the UK had the second-highest obesity rate in Europe, after the island nation of Malta.

sdi/lo (AFP, Reuters)