The UK has recently announced a two-year pilot scheme aimed at tackling obesity, which has become a significant financial burden on the National Health Service (NHS). With a budget of GBP40 million ($50 million) over two years, the program aims to reduce patient wait times for effective obesity drugs by enabling access through general practitioners and specialist pharmacies. While these measures are crucial for addressing the obesity crisis, long-term weight management support is also necessary, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s recent report, “Obesity: Seven-Market Drug Forecast and Market Analysis,” forecasts the UK obesity market to grow from $2.43 billion in 2021 to $37.06 billion in 2031. Forecasted drugs include Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, which is set to be a top-selling drug by the end of the forecast period.

Wegovy is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) therapy, which was recently recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for chronic weight management in patients with obesity whose body mass index (BMI) is 30kg/m2 or above, and for patients who are overweight and whose BMI is 27kg/mg2 or more with one weight-related comorbidity, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, among others.

Wegovy provides an improved efficacy and lower frequency of administration compared to other therapies that are currently on the obesity market, requiring administration on a weekly basis, which is of paramount interest for obese patients as many suffer from comorbidities, subjecting them to additional pharmacotherapies.

Sara Reci, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “These advantages place Wegovy in a position to be one of the key players in the obesity space. Wegovy is expected to achieve $10.17 billion in sales by the end of the forecast period in 2031. Alternative GLP-1Ras, which may potentially be used in the study include Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, a GLP-1R and gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) dual agonist which is currently in late-stage pipeline for obesity.”

Key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData have previously stressed that despite Wegovy’s notable clinical benefits, the biggest disadvantage of this therapy is that people are unable to receive this treatment. The implementation of the pilot scheme will undoubtedly address this need in the UK by increasing patient accessibility to Wegovy.

While historically, the management of obesity in the UK has been a tiered service, whereby tier 1 patients are required to undergo lifestyle changes, then proceed to tier 2, which comprises joining weight loss support groups, and then finally reach tier 3, which would enable the prescription of weight loss pharmacotherapy or bariatric surgery, this pilot will bypass tier 1 and 2 measures, enabling immediate access to pharmacotherapy instead.

Another matter that this pilot scheme is set to address is facilitating equal access to weight loss medication across all parts of the UK, an unmet need that was emphasized by KOLs, who stated the need for sufficient clinics to see people, as patients who are more socially deprived may not necessarily access NHS services, and so are often not included in the services.

Reci concludes: “While facilitating access to GLP-1RAs will be paramount in relieving the obesity crisis, many KOLs agree that pharmacotherapy alone will not suffice in resolving obesity. Obesity is an ongoing, chronic, long-term issue. Even if GLP-1RAs effectively reduce weight in patients, adjunct long-term weight management, via lifestyle experts, psychologists, and social care support, is crucial to maintaining weight loss in patients, ensuring that the positive effects of GLP-1RAs are long-lasting and that the GLP-1RA pilot scheme proves to be successful.”