MHRA Approves Wegovy Weight Management Pills in the U.K.

U.K. — The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Wegovy pills for weight management in the U.K., the first country in Europe to authorize the oral medication. The approval is for adults with obesity or overweight with weight-related conditions.

Wegovy pills contain semaglutide. The U.K. is the third nation to authorize the pill, following the U.S. and the U.A.E. Trials showed patients on the highest dose lost 14 to 17 percent of body weight over 64 weeks.

Emil Kongshøj Larsen, executive vice-president for international operations at Novo Nordisk, said, "This is a landmark approval, making the U.K. the first country in Europe to approve Wegovy pill. We hope this approval supports increasing access to obesity care in the U.K." The medication will not be available through the NHS until reviewed by NICE.

Patients need a private prescription. The starting dose is 1.5 mg daily, increasing to 25 mg. Pills must be swallowed whole with water after fasting for at least eight hours.

Naveed Sattar, Professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said, "Expanding the range of effective treatments is important in helping people sustainably reduce caloric intakes within an increasingly obesogenic environment. With obesity rates in the U.K. now at very high levels, and associated with substantial multimorbidity, additional treatment options for sustained weight loss are greatly needed." Approximately 16 million adults in the U.K. are classified as obese.

Victoria Tzortziou Brown, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said, "Weight-loss medication can potentially benefit many patients, and being able to take it in tablet form would certainly be easier than having to inject it. It remains essential, though, that this medication is not seen as a magic solution for weight loss as it does come with potential side effects and won’t be appropriate for everyone. As such, it’s important that weight-loss medication is used as part of a broader approach to healthy weight management, including access to appropriate nutrition, physical activity and behavioural support."

Pricing for the U.K. market has not been finalized. Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said, "Pharmacies are awaiting further guidance about when this treatment will be available for patients. We are concerned about a growing black market for counterfeit weight-loss treatments, with a tablet form of medication potentially easier for criminals to counterfeit."