Daily ‘fat jab PILL’ that’s cheaper than Ozempic and Mounjaro ‘blasts 2st of fat’ – and could be available within months
WEIGHT OFF
New results from a trial fuel hopes of a hassle-free alternative to weight loss injections
- Isabel Shaw, Health reporter
A DAILY weight loss pill, tipped to be cheaper than popular jabs, has helped patients shed nearly two stone in trials.
People popping the slimming tablets were found to lose more than 10 per cent of their weight after just over a year in a groundbreaking final-stage trial.
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Overall heart health improved, suggesting the one-a-day tablets could also treat other conditions.
Manufacturer Eli Lilly, which also makes the blockbuster weight loss injection Mounjaro, announced the anticipated results of the new pill, called orforglipron, yesterday.
Orforglipron is a drug known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, the same as very popular jabs Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.
They work by mimicking hormones that tell the brain the stomach is full, releasing insulin to break down sugar in the blood.
This also switches off hunger signals, so the patient eats less and avoids weight gain.
The new results fuel hopes of a hassle-free alternative to weight loss injections.
Lilly has not yet decided how much the pills will cost.
But it is expected they will be cheaper than their jab counterparts as the pills are easier and cheaper to produce.
Orforglipron is also easier to use as it can be stored at room temperature and taken at any time of day.
Last month, the pharmaceutical giant revealed it expects pills could be launched "at scale" worldwide as early as next year.
In the latest trial of more than 1,600 overweight adults with type 2 diabetes, those on the new pill lost up to 1st 8lb (10.5 per cent) of their body weight.
The highest dose shifted an average of 22.9lb (1.6st) compared with just 2.2 per cent in the dummy pill group.
Smaller doses still made a difference — with patients shedding 17.4lb (7.8 per cent) on 12mg and 12.1lb (5.5 per cent) on 6mg.
Overall, the drug delivered an average 9.6 per cent weight loss across all patients.
By comparison, blockbuster jab Mounjaro has been shown to help patients shed around 20 per cent of their body weight, roughly double the effect.
Side effects of the tablet were similar to the weight-loss injections.
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Nausea was the most common among people on the trial, affecting up to one in three people, with some also experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea.
Data from orforglipron’s earlier late-stage study in overweight or obese adults without diabetes showed 12.4 per cent average weight loss.
Novo Nordisk, creator of Wegovy and Ozempic, has developed a tablet version of semaglutide, the active drug in those injections.
It applied for approval from the US Food and Drugs Administration in May.
Trials showed patients on the pill lost an average of 15 per cent of their bodyweight over 17 months on a 50mg daily dose compared with eight per cent over 12 months on Wegovy.
Dr Kenneth Custer, Lilly's president, said: “With these positive data in hand, we are moving with urgency toward global regulatory submissions to potentially meet the needs of patients who are waiting.
"If approved, we are ready to offer a convenient, once-daily pill that can be scaled globally - removing barriers and redefining how obesity is treated around the world.”
Around a third of adults in the UK are obese and the rate has doubled since the 1990s - giving the country one of the highest obesity rates in Europe.
A report last year warned Britain’s obesity crisis has driven a 39 per cent surge in type 2 diabetes among under-40s, with 168,000 young Brits now living with the condition.
Being overweight is also linked to at least 13 cancers and is the nation’s second biggest cause of the disease, Cancer Research UK says.
By Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent
THEY are arguably the biggest medical breakthrough of recent times.
And now, so-called ‘fat jabs’ are available to many more Brits on the NHS.
In what marks the dawn of a new era, GPs have begun prescribing the weight loss jab Mounjaro in the first anti-obesity rollout of its kind.
More than three million people are thought to be eligible for tirzepatide - the active drug in Mounjaro - the strongest jab on the market.
Health chiefs hope it will turn the tide on England’s obesity crisis which has seen rates double since the 1990s.
Injections including Ozempic and Wegovy have previously only been available for type 2 diabetes or through specialist slimming clinics.
Family doctors will now be encouraged to prescribe them in a bid to get more people on the meds.
Experts hope widespread use will slash work sick days and boost the economy, while reducing rates of cancer, heart disease and dementia.
But demand for the drugs is already huge and NHS clinics cannot dish them out fast enough.
Who is eligible in the new rollout?
The new rollout allows GPs to prescribe tirzepatide for weight loss, starting with those patients whose weight places them at greatest health risk.
Top of the list will be those with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher (or 37.5 if from a minority ethnic background) and four weight-related health conditions.
A BMI of 40 is roughly equal to weighing 16st (102kg) for an average height 5’3” woman, or 19st 6lbs (123kg) for an average 5’9” man.
Weight-related conditions include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea and heart disease.
Patients will likely be expected to have tried diet and exercise first before being offered a jab.
Many are likely to miss out, as some 13.5million adults in England are obese but only 3.4million are estimated to be eligible in the rollout.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Currently only patients who meet certain criteria - those who could benefit most - are eligible to be prescribed weight loss drugs on the NHS, and GPs will also need to follow local guidelines when prescribing.
“If your practice advises you that they won’t be able to provide weight loss medication, these will likely be the reasons why.
“We appreciate the idea of weight loss medication is an attractive prospect to many patients - and they do have a lot of potential benefits for patients and may be a valuable tool as we try to tackle obesity at a national level – but it’s important these medications aren’t seen as a silver bullet.
“Weight loss drugs do not come without risk, they can cause side effects which range in seriousness, and they won’t be suitable for everyone.
“It’s important we don’t lose sight of the role lifestyle factors play in achieving a healthy weight.
“The roll out of weight loss medications as a treatment for obesity must not come at the expense of other weight loss services.”
If you are eligible but your GP denies you a prescription, you may be able to ask for a referral to specialist weight management services.
Known as tier 2 and tier 3 weight management services, they may prescribe the jabs after other weight loss attempts.
Many people are expected to find it easier to go private, with the injections widely available from high street pharmacies like Boots, Superdrug, and even Asda.
There are also numerous online pharmacies offering the drugs.
Buying the drugs online might seem like the faster fix – but buyer beware.
Slimming success stories are everywhere but so, too, are tales of horror.
Many patients have been duped by dodgy sellers, suffered severe side effects or even died after taking jabs they bought online.
Bargain prices, easy tick-box applications, or prescriptions with no follow-up, should all be red flags to online shoppers.
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