FAT-BLASTING jab Mounjaro – hailed the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss drugs – could be available in the UK within weeks.
Approved as a diabetes and weight loss treatment, it’ll be available to Brits through a new device dubbed the Mounjaro KwikPen.
Mounjaro will be made available through a new device dubbed the KwikPen
The pens will contain four doses of the active ingredient tirzepatide, which helps reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes and regulates users’ appetites so they have fewer hunger pangs.
The four doses will cover a month’s treatment, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said.
Though tirzepatide won the UK watchdog’s approval in November last year, it faced enormous global demand.
But now KwikPens have been greenlit by the MHRA, the drug’s manufacturer Eli Lilly said supplied could reach the UK within weeks.
Laura Steele, Eli Lilly’s UK and Northern Europe president and general manager, said: “The MHRA is the first major regulator in the world to issue marketing authorisation for the alternative KwikPen presentation for tirzepatide, demonstrating their clear focus on speeding innovation to help patients.
“This will enable Lilly to begin supply to the UK within weeks,” she added.
Meanwhile, Douglas Twenefour, head of care at Diabetes UK, said: “We hope the MHRA’s approval of this device will help people living with type 2 diabetes, who are eligible, to access this effective treatment.”
How does the Mounjaro KwikPen work?
Moujaro’s active ingredient tirzepatide helps to reduce sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, but only when the levels of sugar are high, the MHRA said.
It also makes users feel less hungry and experience fewer hunger pangs.
Studies have shown the drug helps patients lose 5kg more than semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy – this is another weight loss jab that was rolled out in the NHS last year.
But shortages of Wegovy meant some patients struggled to access it on the health service.
A dose of 2.5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 12.5mg and 15mg of tirzepatide is injected under the skin in the stomach area, thigh or upper arm with the KwikPen.
Patients will start on 2.5mg once a week for four weeks and gradually increase their dose.
Julian Beach, the MHRA’s interim executive director said the regulator’s approval of the four-dose KwikPen will be “more convenient” for users.
Who will be able to take it?
The pens have been approved to treat adults with type 2 diabetes.
Adults classed as obese – meaning they have a BMI of over 30 – can use them for weight management purposes.
KwikPens will also be dished out to overweight adults with a BMI of 27 to 30 if they have weight-related health issues like prediabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart problems.
What side effects could I have from it?
According to the MHRA, the most common side effects from taking Mounjaro are nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting that usually goes away over time, and constipation.
Users with diabetes can also experience low blood sugar – known as hypoglycaemia – when taking the medicine.
Symptoms of this can include headache, drowsiness, weakness, dizziness, feeling hungry, confusion, irritability, fast heartbeat and sweating.
Women taking the drug who are obese or overweight and taking birth control pills were also advised to wear condoms or to switch to a non-oral contraceptive method for four weeks after starting Mounjaro and four weeks after each dose increase.
“Mounjaro may affect how well the contraceptive pill works in these patients,” the MHRA explained.
The watchdog advised anyone experiencing side effects from Mounjaro to talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse and report it to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.
Weight loss jabs approved in the UK
MOUNJARO is the third weight loss jab to be approved in the UK.
Wegovy uses the same active ingredient semaglutide as the diabetes jab Ozempic. It’s manufactured by pharma company Novo Nordisk and was rolled out in the NHS in 2023.
Britain’s medicines watchdog, the National Institutes of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), says patients must meet the following to be eligible for Wegovy on NHS prescription:
BMI of over 30, which classes as obese
At least one weight-related health condition, such as prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, or obstructive sleep apnoea
Also attempting to – or have made a serious effort to – lose weight by dieting and exercise
Saxenda, which contains the active ingredient liraglutide, is another weight loss jab that’s been available on the NHS since 2020.
It’s prescribed to people with:
A BMI of 30 and over
A BMI of 27 to 30 and have a weight-related health issue like high blood pressure, high cholesterol or sleep apnoea