NHS prescriptions for Wegovy are being held up by a lack of weight loss clinics

Unlock Editor’s Digest for free

FT editor Roula Khalaf picks her favorite stories from this weekly newsletter.

The National Health Service has prescribed weight-loss drug Wegovy far fewer times than expected since its launch as it struggles with a shortage of weight management clinics to deliver the popular treatment.

An analysis of NHS England data by the Financial Times shows Wegovy has been prescribed just 3,300 times since September, well below the 13,500 the health spending watchdog (Nice) expected would take the drug in its first use.

The slow start for Wegovy prescription drugs comes as demand is set to increase. On Tuesday, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said Wegovy can be prescribed to reduce the risk of serious heart problems or stroke in overweight and obese adults, who are currently using it for weight loss.

But Wegovy is in short supply internationally and the NHS said it had prioritized supplies of Ozempic, made by Danish manufacturer Novo Nordisk, which uses the same active ingredient but is used for type 2 diabetes.

The shortage of Wegovy prescriptions is also a result of the lack of specialist NHS weight loss services. Under the Nice recommendations, Wegovy can be prescribed through these services to people with a body mass index (BMI) over 35 or another weight-related condition over 30 for a maximum of two years.

The clinics offer counselling, physiotherapy and healthy eating advice, and have staff specially trained in conditions similar to those in which Danish manufacturer Novo Nordisk Wegovy conducted clinical trials.

But there are more than 20 of these so-called “tier 3” services across the country, with some NHS trusts reporting long waiting lists to access treatment.

Unequal access may result in poorer patients opting out of accessing Wegovy while wealthier users pay over the counter. At express pharmacist Boots, Wegovy costs £199 for four weekly doses for those starting treatment, rising to £299 for higher doses.

Professor Neris Asbury of Oxford University, who researches diet and obesity, said Level 3 weight management services were “very inconsistent across the country. Some areas have them, some areas don’t come at all, and others have a waiting list to access those services.

“People are going to seek out Wegovy personally because they know there may be difficulties or delays in accessing it through the NHS. But it is not an option for everyone,” she added.

According to FT analysis, NHS prescriptions of appetite suppressant shots have increased by 770 every month in April since they were approved in the UK in September last year.

This is likely to rise further: by 2027, 4 million Britons are expected to meet the guidelines for the drug and Nice expects nearly 50,000 each year to receive Wegovy’s active ingredient, semaglutide, through the NHS.

Novo Nordisk has also struggled to meet high global demand for the product, which has shown users can lose up to 15 percent in weight in clinical trials.

In the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care said in January that GLP-1s drugs – the category that includes Wegovy – are expected to remain in short supply until at least the end of 2024.

Novo Nordisk sells Semaglutide under the brand names Rybelsus and Ozempic, approved by the MHRA for the management of diabetes but commonly used off-label for weight loss. NHS patients filled millions of prescriptions each since 2019, data shows.

The service has prioritized the supply of Ozempic, saying it has “taken steps to ensure that patients with type 2 diabetes can continue to receive the treatment they need and this has become a clinical priority”.

Novo Nordisk said it had “made providing a safe supply of Wegovy to the NHS a priority”, but declined to say how much of the drug would be available through the healthcare service. About 80 percent of non-US Wegovy sales are paid out of pocket.

Meanwhile, after Nice issued draft guidelines in June, people with a BMI over 35 can access Mounjaro, a weight-loss drug made by US company Eli Lilly.

GPs will soon be able to prescribe the drug without the need for a Level 3 weight management service, in part because of a different trial design to Wegovy, Astbury said.

“That’s great because it increases access, but our concern is, are those settings ready for that?” For those taking drugs, they may need some guidance from doctors, she said.