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The once-a-day obesity treatment offers an alternative to injections, though experts are urging patients to be wary of counterfeit versions sold online
Britain has become the first nation in Europe to make a new daily weight-loss tablet available to patients, marking another milestone in the country's embrace of GLP-1 treatments.
Foundayo, the brand name for orforglipron, is manufactured by the American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and can now be obtained from certain pharmacies across the United Kingdom.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency granted authorisation for the drug earlier this month.
Eli Lilly is simultaneously engaging with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to secure approval for Foundayo to be prescribed on the NHS in England.
Khalil Asmar, vice-president of cardio-metabolic health at Lilly Northern Europe, said: "The UK is the first country in Europe where Foundayo is now available."
The medication is licensed for individuals whose body mass index stands at 30 or higher. Those with a BMI of between 27 and 30 may also qualify, provided they have at least one health condition linked to their weight.
Beyond weight management, the pill can be employed to help regulate blood sugar levels in patients struggling with poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes.
Patients take a single tablet daily, at whatever time suits them, without any restrictions on food or water intake.
The dosing regimen follows a carefully graduated schedule, beginning at 0.8mg and rising through five further stages — 2.5mg, 5.5mg, 9mg, 14.5mg and finally 17.2mg — with a minimum interval of one month required at each level before escalation.
The arrival of an oral alternative carries particular weight for those who are unable or unwilling to receive injections.
Mr Asmar added: "We're pleased that this means there is another oral treatment option for eligible UK patients alongside licensed injectable treatments."
Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, described the launch as "another significant day with a second weight-loss pill available from today in certain pharmacies."
"This is particularly significant for patients who cannot or do not want to take an injectable medicine, and could make weight-loss treatment available to a wider range of patients," Mr Gregg said.
The development could prove transformative for the many Britons for whom needle-based therapies have long represented an insurmountable barrier to treatment.
Mr Gregg also sounded a note of caution regarding the risks that accompany pill-form treatments.
"It is easier for criminals to provide fake, unlicensed or counterfeit versions of oral medications than injectables, and patients must make sure they only access weight-loss treatments through safe and regulated pharmacies," he warned.
He called for renewed commitment from both Whitehall and the health service to harness pharmacy networks more effectively.
"There must now be a redoubling of efforts within government and the NHS to use pharmacies to make sure more eligible patients in clinical need can get weight loss treatments on the NHS, rather than the current postcode lottery that exists for weight management services via GPs," Mr Gregg said.
Foundayo is the second oral GLP-1 weight-loss treatment to receive MHRA approval, following the regulator's green light for a tablet version of Wegovy in June.
