UK pharmacies report high demand as weight-loss pills go on sale
Rollout likely to accelerate the hit being felt by supermarkets as users of the drugs buy less food
Pharmacies across the UK have experienced a surge in demand for anti-obesity pills following their launch this week on to the private market.
A survey by the National Pharmacy Association found 70.6 per cent had received enquiries from patients looking to start treatment on weight-loss pill Wegovy, which has been available to buy from high street pharmacies and online providers since Monday.
The drug, a daily pill made by Novo Nordisk, is the oral version of the weekly injection of the same name also manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical company. Both contain the active ingredient semaglutide.
The pill became the first oral weight-loss treatment approved anywhere in the world when it received the green light from US authorities in December. It was approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency last month. The pill delivered a loss of 17 per cent of body weight on average after 64 weeks in clinical trials.
The 1.25mg pill, the lowest dose, costs about £100 a month at private pharmacies in the UK.
“The demand has definitely been noticeable,” said Olivier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, who also cautioned that all prescribing decisions should be “made responsibly, based on clinical need and pricing should be transparent to all patients receiving treatment”.
The pill is prescribed for adults who are obese with a body mass index of at least 30 and have at least one pre-existing, weight-related health condition.
The rollout will accelerate the hit to sales already being felt by the UK’s supermarket sector, as people on the weight-loss drugs buy less food. Supermarkets lost £780mn in sales in the year to February as a result of weight-loss drug users cutting back, according to research from Worldpanel by Numerator.
Research into the spending patterns of people taking appetite-suppressing GLP-1 medications, such as Wegovy, in the US by Cornell University found households with at least one person on weight-loss drugs reduced their grocery spend by 5.3 per cent within six months. Higher-income households reduced spending by 8.2 per cent.
People in the UK will consume 5 per cent fewer calories by 2035 as a result of the drugs and healthier eating trends, according to modelling by Bramble Partners, which invests in and advises businesses in the food sector.
Sehar Shahid, an online pharmacist in Scotland, said she had seen a “significant increase” in enquiries about the drugs from patients.
“There has been a real buzz and a lot of excitement,” she said. Shahid also cautioned that there was a “significant” amount of misinformation and some “poor marketing practices” from certain providers that were creating the incorrect impression the pill is easier to access than the injection.
While the weight-loss tablet has been approved by the regulator and is licensed for use in the UK, it is not currently available on the NHS. Experts have warned of a widening gap in access as poorer patients are left unable to access weight-loss drugs while wealthier users pay for a private prescription.
The FT has previously reported that more than half of local health commissioners in England are tightening access to NHS weight-loss injections. “I think we’re in danger of creating a two-tier system where people who can afford to pay privately can access treatment, while those who are often in greatest need simply cannot,” said Picard.
On Friday, England’s chief medical officer published new guidance on the benefits of physical activity in which he cautioned that people on weight-loss drugs “especially need to ensure they do activities to maintain muscle strength”.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty warned that users lost both fat and muscle while on the drugs. “It’s part of the physiological process, but it’s very important that they maintain their strength and balance over time to maintain their ability to keep muscle mass,” he said.