Weight loss jabs could be offered to obese Brits thanks to benefits planned in plans to put millions of people back to work, a pharmaceutical giant has hinted.
Wegovy is available on the NHS for obese people struggling with a weight-related ailment such as type 2 diabetes.
Novo Nordisk, its manufacturer, confirmed today that it is in talks with the Government about plans to “tackle obesity”.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of the Danish pharmaceutical titan, He said it was up to ministers to decide how the once-a-week jabs would be used.
This comes after leaked documents suggested Jørgensen had advised officials to focus on people who were at the “employability hotspot”, where obesity was the main reason for them leaving the labor market.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, chief executive of the Danish pharmaceutical titan, said it was up to ministers to decide how the weekly injections would be used.
Semaglutide, the powerful ingredients behind Wegovy, has ushered in a new era in the war against obesity. The treatment, loved by Hollywood stars, stimulates weight loss by mimicking the actions of a hormone released in the gut after eating, called GLP-1.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today program whether these reports were accurate, Mr Jørgensen said: ‘Yes, we have had meetings with the British government talking generally about tackling obesity.
‘We discuss associations in different countries where there is an open attitude to addressing obesity.
“I can’t go into specific details about it.”
When asked if he had discussed profiling certain groups, he said: “We don’t profile specific individuals, we can only talk about our products based on the approved label.”
“Then it is up to each health system to evaluate how they want to use their medicines and how they want to bring them to certain groups of patients.”
He added: “I have had meetings with the British government about obesity, but I cannot go into more specific details about it.”
Internal documents obtained by the Observer Last year he detailed that Jørgensen had told then Health Secretary Steve Barclay that it was “necessary” to “direct attention to the right group to boost labor market activity, such as those who are at the critical point of employability, where obesity is the factor that drives abandonment of the labor market. market’.
Pinder Sahota, corporate vice president at Novo Nordisk UK, said this could be done using “data from the Department for Work and Pensions” which “could help profile those most likely to return to the labor market”.
The documents, obtained through Freedom of Information rules, claim that England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, treasury officials and Professor John Bell, a geneticist at Oxford University, who oversees its partnership with Novo Nordisk.
The Department of Health said at the time it had no plans to use data from the Department for Work and Pensions to target benefit claimants with anti-obesity drugs.
The meeting, which took place in March, was coordinated by Barclay to discuss obesity care in the UK after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended the use of Wegovy in the NHS, the newspaper.
That same month, The times reported that millions could be offered the vaccine to combat obesity and help “put benefit claimants back to work.”
In England, 26 per cent of adults are obese (meaning their BMI is above 30), while a further 38 per cent are overweight, which is classed as a BMI between 25 and 30.
MailOnline understands that there are only 3,000 people claiming personal independence payments (benefits available to those with a long-term condition or disability) and that the main condition is “obesity”.
However, hundreds of thousands are out of work due to aches and pains, chest and breathing problems, and heart and blood pressure conditions that can be caused by weighing too much.
In England, 26 per cent of adults are obese (meaning their BMI is above 30), while a further 38 per cent are overweight, which is classed as a BMI between 25 and 30.
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Experts have warned that Wegovy is not a “magic pill.” Trials have shown that users can quickly regain pounds once they stop taking it, and it can cause side effects such as nausea, constipation, and diarrhea.
A record 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term illnesses, leading to projections that benefit payments could rise by £9 billion between 2019 and 2027.
Asked today whether Wegovy could boost economies by tackling obesity, Jørgensen said: ‘In fact, I believe that purchasing medications to treat obesity can become one of the best benefits that a health system can have because a series of comorbidities are actually prevented.
‘Type 2 diabetes is also being prevented and, rather than treating a range of comorbidities resulting from living with obesity, there is an opportunity here to treat the underlying gateway to some of these conditions.
“I think it’s a very attractive proposition.”
Semaglutide, the powerful ingredients behind Wegovy, has It marked the beginning of a new era in the war against obesity.
The treatment, loved by Hollywood stars, stimulates weight loss by mimicking the actions of a hormone released in the gut after eating, called GLP-1.
In addition to telling the pancreas to produce more insulin, which lowers blood sugar, the hormone GLP-1 feeds back to the brain and makes users feel full.
As a result, semaglutide may prevent users from overeating.
In addition to taking the medication, patients are recommended to reduce their calories and increase their exercise levels.
Trials have shown that the drug can help people lose more than 2%, earning it praise as a “miraculous” skinny punch.
The same key ingredient is also found in Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes medication that also stimulates weight loss.
However, although Ozempic has been available to diabetes patients for years, Wegovy is not yet widely available in the UK due to supply issues.
The delay has led to a rise in “off-label” prescribing of Ozempic for people looking to turn the tables, leaving some type 2 diabetes patients struggling to access their medications.
The shortage has also led to fake versions of prescription drugs circulating in the UK, leaving some Britons in a coma.
Mr Jørgensen said today: ‘It is a problem for us if patients believe they have purchased a Novo Nordisk product and it turns out to be a counterfeit.
‘Some of the molecules, the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) it contains, come from sources that are not even approved by the authorities.
“We work with authorities to fix this issue when we become aware of it, but this sometimes happens online and can be a difficult challenge.”
Even though patients are eager to take the medications, It is not without side effects.
Users often complain of nausea, constipation, and diarrhea after taking the medication. Less common side effects include taste disturbance and acute pancreatitis.
MailOnline revealed last year that Novo Nordisk was investigating whether semaglutide could increase the risk of medullary thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer.
But there is still no evidence to show that they are definitely side effects, even in extremely rare cases.
The European Medicines Agency is already investigating Ozempic and other similar weight-loss hits over fears they could cause users to consider self-harm.
Health chiefs were frightened by reports from Iceland of three patients experiencing thoughts of self-harm and suicide after receiving the injections.
Suicidal thoughts are listed as a possible consequence on the leaflets already inside the package.