Obesity professor and FSA chair Susan Jebb has hailed the approval of a new daily weight-loss pill as a game-changer similar to the arrival of statins.
Foundayo, a daily GLP-1 weight-loss pill produced by Eli Lilly, has been approved in the UK for the treatment of both weight loss and Type 2 diabetes.
It means the UK has become the first country in Europe to approve the drug for both conditions, although initially only for private prescriptions.
Jebb said she believed there would be a huge take-up of the pill, as a more practical alternative to weight-loss injections.
Asked if she believed the drug’s approval could prove as significant as the arrival of statins, she told the BBC: “I think it may well be.
“I’ve worked in this field for more than 30 years now and I think even 10 years ago we probably wouldn’t have believed the impact that the new weight-loss medications are having.
“But of course if it’s an injection, that puts a lot of people off. It’s quite impractical as you have to store it in the fridge, and the advent of the oral medications are going to be much easier to take and almost certainly be much cheaper.
“I think we will see many people taking the drug for a very long period of time to keep weight off and crucially to reduce their risk of diabetes, heart diseases and quite possibly other conditions.”
Unlike its rival Wegovy, Foundayo can be taken once a day without any food or water restrictions and is set to launch in the UK later this month at a cheaper price.
Mounjaro is currently available for around £300 a month.
Jebb stressed that the drug should not be seen as the only answer to tackling obesity, and it is still important to stress the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise.
But she said she believes mass take-up of the drug on the NHS would be “with us before too long”.
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