Key Summary
- Health and Social Care Committee held a hearing on "Weight loss jabs – private access and regulation" recently at the House of Commons
- Claire Nevinson of Boots said that around 1.6 million patients in the UK use GLP1s, and most of them are accessing them through the private sector.
- Andy Morling from MHRA lamented that there has been a “blurring of the edges between a medicine and a cosmetic” in recent years.
Pharmacy2U chief medical officer Dr Kieran Seyan has told a parliamentary committee that the demand for the Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1), or weight-loss jabs, has increased significantly over the last couple of years, but the NHS provides only limited access.
So the patients are seeking treatment from sectors outside of the NHS, he added.
He said this while providing oral evidence for the Health and Social Care Committee hearing on "Weight loss jabs – private access and regulation" at the House of Commons on Wednesday (25).
The other participants were Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots, and Dr Simon Doyle, Public Policy and Partnerships Lead at Eucalyptus (Juniper) at Coalition of Responsible Digital Health UK.
Dr Boyle said he is representing a new member coalition called the Coalition of Responsible Digital Health (CORD), comprising digital-only providers, and advocating for effective regulation that enables safe access to digital care.
The Health and Social Care committee urged UK pharmacists and regulators to give evidence following deaths of people buying the weekly jabs on the black market and in the wake of semaglutide, the molecule in Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, going off-patent in India and soon in China and Brazil.
Seyan said, "As access to semaglutide medicines expands globally, there is a risk of growth in illicit supply if patients are unable to access treatment through regulated pathways. We’ve seen similar patterns in other areas of healthcare, including with PrEP, where demand outpaced access, and patients turned to alternative routes.
"GLP-1 medicines can have life-changing benefits when used appropriately, but the risk arises when they are accessed without proper clinical checks and safeguards. Wrap-around care should be available to support patients throughout treatment.
"Ensuring safe access through trusted providers, alongside appropriate clinical support, will be critical as demand continues to grow."
He said that, considering the type of consultation that's available at the NHS, it is not possible for general practice to cope with the patient volumes.
Hence, there is a need for wider availability of access to care that could be through digital, through pharmacy or a combination of both, along with the general practice.
Unless there are more avenues, it's going to be very difficult to um to serve all of those patients, he added.
The MPs have been warned that unlicensed online pharmacies could sell cheaper weight-loss drugs to people who should not have them, such as young girls and people with conditions such as anorexia.
In India, analysts have forecast that more than 50 brands are set to launch generic versions of semaglutide in the next few months.
Claire Nevinson said that around 1.6 million patients in the UK use GLP1s, and most of them are accessing them through the private sector. She cited accessibility and the wraparound care provided by private players as the reason for their popularity.
She pointed out that Boots supports thousands of patients every week through their online doctor service and has recently introduced a face-to-face version of that service.
Dr Boyle pointed out that the NHS eligibility varies from area to area. "Within different ICBs we're seeing criteria become more stringent as well, which is part of the problem of that's caused the postcode lottery."
He said his organisation is working towards three main pillars in their code of conduct for online pharmacies.
Dr Boyle said CORD advocates safe prescribing ongoing care, as opposed to one-off transaction.
"So that means an element of side effect support dose titration and education. We're trying to change behaviour along a patient's weight loss experience as well."
The final pillar is around responsible communication. He pointed out that his organisation is working with regulators, ASA and GPhC, to combat misinformation.
In the second hearing on the same issue, Andy Morling, deputy director of Criminal Enforcement & Head of the Criminal Enforcement Unit at Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), lamented that there has been a “blurring of the edges between a medicine and a cosmetic” in recent years.
He told MPs that there are currently 55 MHRA officers who are patrolling the internet looking for illegal sellers. A team is also on the lookout for offending social media posts.
