Tirzepatide, available as Mounjaro, has been hailed as the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss hits: more effective for weight loss than similar drugs such as Ozempic.
Yesterday, the NHS spending watchdog confirmed it would be extended to more than 200,000 of the 3.4 million eligible Britons over the next three years.
Concerns that it could overwhelm the NHS mean the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has agreed to give the health service more than a decade to fully introduce it, an unprecedented move for a drug.
But there has been growing concern about misleading claims about the drugs’ safety and the risk of serious injuries, including stomach paralysis and gallbladder problems.
Like all medications, Mounjaro is not free from side effects.
Now doctors have also taken to social media to warn of another potentially fatal side effect that patients should be aware of when starting the injection.
American doctor Dr. Ethan Melillo said pancreatitis (when the pancreas suddenly becomes inflamed) is a “rare but serious side effect.”
He told his more than 450,000 TikTok followers: ‘I tell patients that if you experience any pain in your stomach that radiates to your back, let me know immediately.
There has been growing concern about misleading claims about drug safety and the risk of serious gastrointestinal injuries, including stomach paralysis and gallbladder problems.
‘Then we can discuss stopping the medication.
“Your doctor may also do blood tests annually just to make sure you are tolerating the medication.”
If left untreated, pancreatitis can lead to life-threatening complications, such as multiple organ failure, kidney problems, and breathing problems.
Studies have already suggested that there may be a link between Mounjaro and an increased risk of pancreatitis, when the pancreas suddenly becomes inflamed.
However, there is still not enough evidence to show who is at higher risk for this side effect and why the medication might trigger it.
One theory is that it increases the levels of certain pancreatic enzymes in the blood. Problems with these enzymes can cause them to try to digest the pancreas, triggering pancreatitis.
Also known as tirzepatide, the weekly medication has been hailed as a “game-changing” treatment.
Yesterday, NICE ruled that 3.4 million adults are eligible for Mounjaro.
Susan McGowan, 58, from Lanarkshire, died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis after receiving two low-dose injections of tirzepatide.
According to the guidelines, it is recommended for people with a body mass index greater than 35 and at least one weight-related illness.
But a lack of NHS capacity means only 220,000 of these patients – less than one in ten – will receive the drug over the next three years.
Costing £122 a month, regulators say it should be prescribed alongside a low-calorie diet and exercise.
It will be available to these patients within 90 days after the final guidance is published on December 23.
Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is the second in this class of weight-loss drugs approved for use on the NHS after Wegovy last year.
It works by reducing food cravings and making the stomach empty more slowly, resulting in weight loss.
The latest results released this week showed that patients typically lost more than 20 percent of their body weight, compared to less than 14 percent when taking semaglutide, the key ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
Almost a third (32 per cent) lost at least a quarter of their body weight after 72 weeks, twice as much as their main rival.
Scottish nurse McGowan bought a prescription through a registered online pharmacy after researching Mounjaro and seeking medical advice.
Growing evidence has also shown that they could be key to a variety of additional health benefits, from reducing heart disease to some types of cancer.
However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which monitors the safety of medicines used in Britain, also warns that Mounjaro’s side effects could include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting (which usually disappears over time) and constipation.
People taking the drug outside of clinical trials also reported experiencing hair loss while taking Mounjaro.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the MHRA had received reports of ten deaths linked to the use of weight loss injections in the UK and 7,228 reports of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea associated with people like Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Of them, 68 patients were admitted to the hospital.
A reported death or adverse reaction does not necessarily mean it was caused by the drug, just that someone suspected it may have been that way.
Underlying or concurrent illnesses and other medications that patients may have taken at the time of their death may be responsible, and such events may also be coincidental.
Last month, the United Kingdom also recorded its first death officially linked to Mounjaro.
A case report published in August also found that an obese American man suffered excruciating pain and was forced to go to the emergency room after Mounjaro left him with an overactive thyroid.
Susan McGowan, a 58-year-old nurse from Lanarkshire, died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis after receiving two low-dose injections of tirzepatide.
He received the injections over a two-week period before his death on September 4. It is believed to be the first time the drug has been listed as a contributing factor on a death certificate.
Scottish nurse Ms McGowan bought a prescription through a registered online pharmacy after researching Mounjaro and seeking medical advice.
After his death, his niece Jade told the bbc: ‘Susan had always had a little extra weight but never had any health problems. He was not taking any other medication. She was healthy.
‘Susan was a very happy person. She was very generous, very kind and was the life of the party – a great personality.
“They said she was the one who laughed the most in the hospital.”