LONDON – American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is exploring whether anti-obesity drugs could be used to curb unemployment after signing major investment deal with UK
The weight-loss treatment company and creator of Zepbound announced Monday that it would commit £279 million ($364 million) to help tackle Britain's significant health challenges, including obesity.
The “strategic collaboration”, agreed with the UK's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), came as part of a wider £63bn investment package announced at the close of the Labor government's inaugural International Investment Summit on Monday.
The agreement with Eli Lilly will allow the company to launch a “real-world” study to understand how tirzepatide (the GLP-1 treatment behind its drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro) affects weight loss, diabetes prevention and prevention of obesity-related complications, to better inform the treatment of obesity by the National Health Services.
Within that, the five-year trial, conducted in collaboration with Health Innovation Manchester, will also explore how weight-loss drugs affect “participants' work status and sick days at work,” the company said in a statement. press release.
“This collaboration will add to the evidence base on the impact of real-world obesity treatments on the health of people with obesity, and will explore a wide range of outcomes including health-related quality of life and the impact on individuals' employment status,” said Professor Rachel Batterham, senior vice president of international medical affairs at Lilly.
UK Health and Social Care Minister Wes Streeting said the partnership was “key to building a healthier society and economy and making the NHS fit for the future”.
The UK is struggling with a persistently high rate of “economic inactivity”, defined as those not working or seeking employment. Almost a third of claims are attributed to long-term illnesses, including pre-existing health conditions such as obesity, which has been exacerbated by Covid.
In an article published in the Telegraph on Monday, Streeting said “widening waistbands” had placed a “significant burden” on the NHS and the economy, and was costing the health service £11bn a year.
“It's holding back our economy,” he wrote. “Illnesses caused by obesity cause people to take an average of four more sick days a year, while many others are forced to leave work.”
Streeting said the jabs could be “monumental” in tackling obesity and getting people back to work, but added: “The NHS can't always be expected to foot the bill for unhealthy lifestyles.”
CNBC contacted the DHSC, who said the minister's comments “fully reflect” the government's position.
Cases of use of obesity drugs have increased in recent months, and several drug regulators have expanded the labels of GLP-1 drugs for use in the treatment of obesity-related comorbidities and other diseases.
Speaking to CNBC last week, Citi pharmaceuticals analyst Peter Verdault said the body of evidence supporting increased use of weight-loss drugs “continues to come.”
However, some medical professionals expressed concern about establishing an association between health treatments and economic outcomes.
“[There are] “There are some serious ethical, financial and effectiveness considerations with such an approach… Like observing people or measuring them based on their potential economic value, rather than based primarily on their needs and their health needs,” said visiting researcher Dr Dolly van Tulleken. in the epidemiology unit of the MRC at the University of Cambridge and a specialist in obesity policy, he told BBC Radio 4's Today program on Tuesday.
Eli Lilly's investment will also allow the company to launch its first innovation accelerator “Lilly Gateway Labs” in Europe to support early-stage life sciences companies develop transformative medicines and technologies.
The company said it plans to make a further £279 million of new investments in the UK in the coming years.
