Weight loss pills could become available on the NHS in future as an alternative to injections, Wes Streeting has said.
It comes after the Health Secretary used his conference speech on Tuesday to pledge that obesity jabs would be rolled out to everyone who needs them, not just wealthier people who pay.
Weight loss tablets are seen as the holy grail by some experts because pills are more convenient for patients, easier to store and distribute and would likely be cheaper than jabs.
A treatment in tablet form – known as Orforglipron and manufactured by the company responsible for creating the Mounjaro jab, Eli Lilly – has shown effectiveness in trials but has not yet been approved for widespread use.
Asked by The i Paper if he was open to rolling out weight loss pills on the NHS, Streeting said he wanted patients to have access to new treatments “as quickly as possible”.
Streeting said: “This is an area of science that’s evolving fast.
“I want our people to get access to the latest treatments as quickly as possible. I want us to be at the forefront of this revolution in life science and med tech.”
He went on to stress the need for existing weight loss jabs to be accessible to all patients, not just those who pay privately.
“What I recognize today on the weight loss jabs is, if you look at the people who are benefiting, they tend to be the people who can afford to pay for them, and I don’t want to return to a country where health was determined by wealth,” he said.
“If they’re good enough for some, then they’re good enough for all who would benefit.
“And I’m determined to make sure that everyone can get access to life changing, life saving, drugs on our NHS consistent with the values of this party and our great country.”
Obesity injections are costly, partly because of the need to store them at specific temperatures and them being administered using auto-injector pens.
The American pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly is aiming to have Orforglipron – a type of medication that helps lower blood sugar levels, slow the digestion of food and reduce appetite – ready to be approved by regulators in the US by late 2025 or early 2026.
The pill works in a similar way to weight loss injections such as Mounjaro. Trials reported earlier in September suggest it can reduce body weight by as much as a fifth, although the results were not as stark as for patients using jabs.
There are multiple other weight loss pills undergoing testing, The i Paper previously revealed.
In his conference speech, the Health Secretary said the NHS was focused on giving people the “care they need not just the care they can afford” as he accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of plotting an insurance-based health system.
Modern medical advancements mean “change is coming,” in healthcare “whether we like it or not,” Streeting said, citing weight loss jabs as an example.
But he warned that “millions” do not currently have access to such treatments because they cannot pay privately.
“That is a return to the days when health was determined by wealth. When some had access to the best care money can buy while others waited, and suffered.
“And I say never again. Because our historic duty — and our modern mission — is to ensure that the best science, the best healthcare, the best innovations are available not just to some but to all.”
The head of a Oviva, a company providing the NHS with weight loss jabs, warned that regional “restrictions” were creating a “postcode lottery” when it comes to accessing the treatment and this must be “based on need, not postcode or bank balance”.
The Government’s 10 year health strategy, unveiled by Streeting earlier this year, includes proposals which would see weight-loss jabs available in pharmacies over the coming years to combat obesity.
The drugs can be prescribed by GPs on the NHS for the most severely obese patients, while wealthier people can access them on the private market. Eventually, the plan is to provide the drugs on the NHS through pharmacies.
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Streeting said the government’s decade-long “plan for health” means “giving patients more power, more choice and more convenience, for the many, not just for the privileged few”.
Plans for a new “virtual hospital” system, which will allow patients to be linked up with specialist doctors via an online hub, is part of that modernising process, Streeting said.
The new NHS Online service, announced by the Prime Minister on Tuesday, will create an estimated 8.5m appointments over three years.
In his speech, Streeting also announced a £500m funding package to launch the start of a government pledge to improve the pay and working conditions of care workers.
The fair pay agreement will establish a new negotiating body that brings together social care employers and trade unions in England with the aim of boosting pay by 2028.
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