MORE THAN a million people with heart disease will be offered the weight-loss drug Wegovy on the NHS after the UK's medicines watchdog approved its use to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published draft guidance on Wednesday (1) recommending semaglutide, sold under the brand name Wegovy, for adults who have previously had a heart attack, stroke or serious circulation problems in the legs, and who are overweight or obese with a body mass index of 27 or above.
The drug, delivered as a weekly injection, will be prescribed alongside diet changes and increased physical activity. Around 1.2 million people in England are expected to be eligible, with access expected from this summer following a deal between NHS England and the drug's manufacturer, Novo Nordisk.
NICE's decision was based on a trial of more than 17,600 people, which found Wegovy cut the risk of major cardiovascular events by 20 per cent compared with a placebo. The drug is already available on the NHS for obesity through specialist weight management services, and its sister product Ozempic, the same drug under a different brand name, is widely prescribed for type 2 diabetes.
Helen Williams, national clinical director for cardiovascular disease prevention at NHS England, said the treatment could be "life-changing" for those at highest risk. "We know that people who have already had a heart attack or stroke face a much higher risk of having another," she said. "Semaglutide could help prevent thousands of future major cardiovascular events and give many people the chance at a longer and healthier life."
Until now, Wegovy had UK regulatory approval, granted in 2024, to cut the risk of cardiovascular events in overweight adults with existing heart disease, but access was limited to patients who could pay out of pocket.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan of the British Heart Foundation said the drugs had "proven benefits beyond reducing the number on the scales" and were now considered important medicines in their own right. "Cardiovascular disease is still one of the country's biggest killers," she said. "It's so important that when we get new and effective medicines which prevent cardiovascular disease complications, they get to everyone who could benefit as soon as possible."
The Stroke Association welcomed the guidance but urged caution about applying it uniformly. Chief executive Juliet Bouverie said stroke survivors had different needs and that alternatives such as anticoagulants had also been effective. "Every stroke survivor is different, and their specific needs should be considered carefully," she said.
The approval comes as the government faces pressure over NHS drug pricing more broadly. Rival drugmaker Eli Lilly has reportedly told the Financial Times it wants the UK to raise NHS drug prices and phase out a rebate scheme if it is to resume investment, and last year raised the list price of its weight-loss drug Mounjaro by up to 170 per cent.
Around one in four adults in the UK is estimated to be living with obesity, according to NHS figures.
(with inputs from Reuters)
