London: UK lawmakers have criticised the National Health Service’s (NHS) gradual rollout of Mounjaro, warning that the current plan will leave most eligible patients without access to the weight-loss drug for years and widen inequalities between those who can afford private treatment and those who cannot.
The House of Commons Health Committee stated that only around 6 percent of eligible people would receive or be taking Mounjaro during the first three years of its NHS rollout. MPs described the plan as insufficient and called on the government to accelerate access to the medication.
Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, belongs to a group of medicines called GLP-1 drugs, alongside Wegovy and Ozempic. Administered as a weekly injection, it suppresses appetite and helps people feel full for longer.
The committee urged the government to treat obesity as a long-term condition requiring ongoing management, similar to diabetes. It also called for more ambitious targets to improve access to GLP-1 medicines and recommended a summit involving healthcare professionals and providers to explore ways to expand availability, including through digital healthcare services.
The NHS estimates that around 2.8 million people in England could be eligible for Mounjaro. Providing the drug to everyone who qualified in its first year was projected to cost £15.2 billion over five years.
Instead, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) agreed to a phased rollout covering around 220,000 people over three years. NICE recommended Mounjaro for obesity treatment in June 2024. Wegovy has also been approved for NHS use.
The committee noted that around 2.4 million packs of GLP-1 medicines are prescribed monthly in the UK, with most obtained through private prescriptions. This has raised concerns about a two-tier system in which access to treatment depends on patients’ ability to pay.
Private prices for a month’s supply of Mounjaro range from around £150 for the lowest dose to £350 for the highest. MPs called for a reassessment of the rollout’s pace, warning that the current approach could leave millions of people unable to access treatment through the NHS.
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