The UK’s medicines regulator has approved a stronger dose of the weight loss jab Wegovy as demand for the drug is set to soar.
The new 7.2mg dose is three times higher than the current approved dosage of 2.4mg a week, and according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), it can provide more than 20 per cent weight loss.
According to the MHRA, trials showed that a third of adult participants living with obesity who took the higher dose once a week achieved weight loss of more than 25 per cent or more after 72 weeks.
The approval comes as recent research showed 1.6 million people had used Wegovy or Mounjaro last year, and a further 3.3 million people said they would be interested in using weight loss drugs over the next year.
The research, by University College London and based on a survey of 5,260 people, revealed that while 2.9 per cent of people surveyed said they use GLP-1 medication to lose weight, 15 per cent of those are using medication that is not licensed for that purpose. Researchers warned that using drugs “off-label”, which means they are licensed for a different purpose – in this case, to manage diabetes – can pose safety risks if the medicines are accessed without appropriate clinical supervision.
The latest MHRA approval for Wegovy is based on data from a clinical trial, called Step Up, which evaluated the effect of treatment on patients.
It showed that of those who took 7.2mg of Wegovy, lost 20.7 per cent of their weight compared to 2.4 per cent on the placebo. The study did find that patients reported side effects, with mild to moderate gastrointestinal issues most frequently reported.
The approval also comes as researchers at the University of Oxford found that people on drugs, including semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro), lose weight during treatment but, on average, regain it within 20 months of stopping the jabs.
In contrast, people who are supported to lose weight through healthier diets and exercise keep the weight off for far longer – just under four years – though they do, on average, also regain it eventually.
The research warned people on the fat-loss jabs need ongoing support, after their research showed these patients will put all the weight back on much faster than traditional dieters. It found improvements to blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure are also lost when people stop the drugs, with patients ending up back where they were at the start of their diet journey.
The Oxford research, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), included 37 studies involving more than 9,000 people.
