Mounjaro, a weight-loss drug that is available in an injectable pen in Great Britain in the near future for the treatment of diabetes and obesity will be made available by Eli Lilly after the UK medicines regulator approved its sale on Thursday.
It will compete with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Since its launch in September, the product has been hard to find in the UK due to celebrity endorsements, dramatic weight loss results and high demand.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency first approved Mounjaro (also known as Tizepatide) in November, but there was not enough regular form of the drug to supply the UK.
The MHRA approved Eli Lilly’s “KwikPen” on Thursday. This format contains four doses within one device. Eli Lilly has now announced that it can supply the drug in England, Scotland, and Wales.
The MHRA was the first major regulatory body in the world that issued a marketing authorisation for an alternative KwikPen for tirzepatide. This shows their focus on speeding up innovation for patients. The UK will be able to receive the product within a few weeks, said Laura Steele. She is head of UK and Northern Europe at Lilly.
According to the Health Survey for England, 2021, more than one-fourth of adults in England is obese. The drug is approved for adults with type 2 diabetics, obese people who have a BMI above 30, or overweight people who have a BMI above 27 when they are also suffering from illnesses like high blood pressure, sleep disorders, or diabetes.
Mounjaro, also known as Zepbound under US brand names, helped the $610bn US pharmaceutical company become the most valuable drugmaker in the world last summer.
Eli Lilly refused to reveal how much product will be sold in Britain or which pharmacies stock it.
Northern Ireland patients will no longer be able to use pens.
Eli Lilly is unlikely to provide enough of the drug in Britain to meet demand for weight-loss treatments.
The popularity of the drug has left diabetics without medicine. The Department of Health and Social Care advised doctors to avoid prescribing Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic as a weight loss drug in an effort to limit supplies.