Better-off British may get easier access to weight-loss drug

London — People in Britain who can afford to pay their own way may find it easier to get Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy than National Health Service (NHS) patients, warn doctors and medical experts warn.

That could worsen health inequality in the country with the highest obesity level in Europe with the NHS under increasing financial strain and struggling with record waiting times.

Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk announced on Monday the launch of the drug in Britain, its fifth market, making it available on the NHS weight management scheme, where it will be prescribed free and also in the private sector.

Novo said on Monday that it would allocate a portion of available supply for the NHS, which said about 50,000 patients could be eligible in England, but cautioned that supplies will be limited for the foreseeable future.

Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, who has consulted for Novo but said he had no knowledge of its decision-making process, said he was “not comfortable” with Wegovy being available privately.

Sattar said: “It just doesn’t make sense to me because there is substantial need in the NHS. Why wouldn’t we put all that (supply) through the NHS?”

A 2019 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report said that nearly one in three adults is obese in the UK, the highest level in Europe.

In the most deprived areas in England, the incidence of obesity or being overweight is 14 percentage points higher than in the least deprived areas, 2020/21 figures show, according to a NHS report published in January.

Many obese people who are poor or face other barriers such as not speaking fluent English may struggle to access the NHS specialist service, said Duane Mellor, a dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston University’s medical school.

The NHS specialist weight management service is also relatively small compared with potential demand, doctors said.

The NHS declined to answer questions on access concern voiced by doctors, referring Reuters to its earlier statement on the launch.

Limited supplies

Wegovy, shown to help patients reduce body weight by about 15% when used along with exercise and lifestyle changes, is also available in the US, Norway, Denmark and Germany.

But Novo has had to limit supplies of starter doses in the US due to supply shortages and soaring demand. German doctors also say supplies are low.

Two leading private insurers, Aviva and AXA Health, said they would not cover Wegovy.

Even so, high demand from people paying out of their own pockets for Wegovy, which is injected monthly, may also hamper Novo’s ability to produce enough of the drug as it tries to expand in Europe.

In a sign of pent-up private demand, UK-based Simple Online Pharmacy said that more than 50,000 people had registered an interest in Wegovy on its website.

Doctors prescribing Novo’s type 2 diabetes treatment Ozempic for weight-loss caused shortages of that drug in Britain, the government said on Monday. Ozempic contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy, but in a lower dose.

Private providers are locking in supplies. Simple Online Pharmacy said on Tuesday it had received Wegovy stock from a wholesaler. Numan, an online men’s healthcare company, said it is waiting to learn more about availability from the wholesaler, and intends to fill prescriptions in September.

Main weight-care medications providers in Britain Simple, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Superdrug said they would charge private patients from £195 for a monthly supply of Wegovy.

The criteria for doctors prescribing Wegovy privately is not the same as those under the NHS, potentially widening access to more people.

Juniper, a venture capital-backed private online clinic, said it will prescribe Wegovy to anyone with a body mass index (BMI) above 27 with a weight-related comorbidity.

Under the NHS, Wegovy would be prescribed to people with at least one weight-related condition and a BMI of 35 or more, or a BMI of 30 or more and already being treated by the NHS specialist weight management service.

“Using private providers will almost certainly mean that some of those who need the drug most will not be able obtain the drug,” said Richard Holt, professor in diabetes and endocrinology at the University of Southampton.

Reuters