Britain will study whether the use of Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug can get people back into work and help tackle the high rate of long-term sickness that has become a major drag on the economy.
Health minister Wes Streeting predicted the use of the drug — a competitor to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic — could help transform the health of the nation, after Lilly announced a 279 million pound ($365.4 million) investment in Britain as part of a flagship summit hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The deal included “a major real-world study” on the effectiveness of tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro in Britain, which could reduce the burden on the state-run National Health Service.
Streeting said obesity was costing the NHS 11 billion pounds a year and meant people took more sick leave or were forced out of the jobs market altogether.
“The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity,” Streeting wrote in an article in the Telegraph newspaper.
“For many people, these weight-loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS.”
The University of Manchester will coordinate the study, which will have up to 3,000 participants, and collect data on “health-related quality of life and changes in participants’ employment status and sick days from work.”
Earlier this month, England’s National Health Service outlined a plan to give the drug to nearly a quarter of a million people as part of a three-year plan.
Streeting said that while the drug would be a tool to tackle obesity, people would need to make lifestyle changes too so that the health service, already struggling after years of crises, was not put under further strain.
“The NHS can’t be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles,” he said.
NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said the study would provide valuable insights for the health service.
“Obesity is one of the biggest public health issues we face, and we know weight loss drugs will be a game-changer,” she said.
($1 = 0.7635 pounds)
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Christina Fincher)
