£5-a-day weight-loss pill that 'shuts off food noise' could be coming to the UK
Weight loss jabs have proven to be remarkably popular as the impact they've had on people's waistlines can literally be measured.
The big names in the business are Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, both of which are available on the NHS provided you meet certain criteria.
They both work by being something known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, and GLP-1 is a hormone from your small intestine which does a number of things in the body including making you feel full.
The agonists mimic this feeling and sends messages to your brain that you're full and don't need to eat more, resulting in people tending to eat less lose weight as a result.
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However, some people may not be the most enthusiastic about a weight loss jab as they may not be fans of needles, and those people will be pleased to know that Novo Nordisk is trying to get approval for a daily pill version of Wegovy that Brits can take.
The active ingredient in an injection of Wegovy is semaglutide, and this pill also has that.
Their daily weight loss pill has already been given the green light in the US and several other countries, and now it's being looked at by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to see if it's good for UK markets.
If it gets approval in the UK then it could end up joining Wegovy and Mounjaro as options on the NHS, though that would be some time away.
When it's sold privately in the US the daily semaglutide pill costs around $139 (£104) per month, or about £5 a day, compared with approximately $199 (£149) for injectable versions.
American patient Sharon Vickers, 46, said she turned to the pill after finding injectable treatments too expensive and her weight loss 'stalled' due to the cost of injections and her reluctance to take jabs.
She spoke with her doctor and was prescribed the weight loss pill earlier this year, being a fan of the impact it's had on her.
"At day five of taking the pills, it shut out food noise completely," she said.
"I’m not snacking as much as I used to - hours can pass and I won’t even think of food.”
The South Carolina woman says she's lost 2lbs on the weight loss pill and hasn't experienced any side effects from it.
If this stuff gets approval in the UK then demand is expected to be high as when it went onto the US market thousands of people wanted it and some pharmacies said their supply was limited.
In the UK if you want to be prescribed a weight loss drug like Wegovy then you need to have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or above, or 30 and above with a weight-related condition, and are receiving specialist weight management support, the pill may end up following similar rules if it gets approved.
As for when that might happen, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said they 'can not confirm the date of approval at this stage', but they are working on it.
Joe Harker