1. Time to unshackle the medical treatment of obesity in the NHS.
- Author
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Ansari S, Mazaheri T, O'Donnell K, Waite M, Cann A, Abdel-Malek M, Boyle L, Tweedlie L, Scholtz S, Hameed S, Izzi-Engbeaya C, Chahal H, and Tan T
- Subjects
- Humans, United Kingdom, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor agonists, Liraglutide therapeutic use, Glucagon-Like Peptides therapeutic use, Glucagon-Like Peptides analogs & derivatives, Glucagon-Like Peptides administration & dosage, Anti-Obesity Agents therapeutic use, Obesity drug therapy, State Medicine
- Abstract
Obesity affects one in four people in the United Kingdom and costs the National Health Service (NHS) ∼£6.5 billion annually. The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor analogues, such as once-daily subcutaneous Liraglutide 3.0 mg (Saxenda®) and once-weekly subcutaneous Semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy®), were approved by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a treatment for obesity and funded by the NHS for 2 years. Our local data shows that Saxenda is effective at reducing body weight and glycaemia in people with obesity and diabetes; however, the supply issues of GLP-1 receptor analogues have contributed to the unavailability of Saxenda and Wegovy in our service. Our patients are devastated that they cannot access NICE-approved GLP-1 receptor analogues for obesity. The 2-year GLP-1 receptor analogue treatment limit for obesity alongside a lack of funded NHS services and supply issues represent barriers to treatment for people living with obesity who have clear medical indications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interests Prof Tricia Tan is a shareholder in, and consultant for Zihipp Ltd, an Imperial College spinout company that is developing gut hormone analogues for treatment of obesity., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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