![\"Health](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/healthCheck1_1.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in healthGet our free Health Check emailGet our free Health Check email<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sales of weight-loss drug Ozempic<\/a> are reportedly up by 500 to 600 per cent in Britain following the announcement of price rises of its popular competitor Mounjaro<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Mounjaro, said prices of the drug will almost triple<\/a> from 1 September to bring it in line with other countries. <\/p>\n Ozempic, also known under the name Wegovy, is manufactured by Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, and will now be around half the price of Mounjaro<\/a>.<\/p>\n It comes after Donald Trump\u2019s administration complained about \u201cforeign freeloaders\u201d who rely on the US to pay more for medicine.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Sales of weight-loss drug Ozempic are up by 500 to 600 per cent in the UK, according to one of its providers (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n Mr Trump explained in May that his plan to impose price controls on prescription medications was inspired by hearing from a friend about the low cost of weight-loss medication<\/a> in the UK compared to what that person paid for the same medication in the US.<\/p>\n He told reporters<\/a> of taking a call from a \u201cfriend\u201d in London, who he described as a \u201chighly neurotic, brilliant businessman\u201d and \u201cseriously overweight\u201d, about the cost of what Mr Trump described as \u201cthe fat shot drug\u201d.<\/p>\n Mr Trump said, according to his friend: \u201cI’m in London, and I just paid for this damn fat drug I take. I said, it’s not working. They said, he said, I just paid $88 and in New York I paid $1,300. What the hell is going on? he said. So I checked, and it’s the same box made in the same plant by the same company. It’s the identical pill that I buy in New York, and here I’m paying $88 in London, in New York, I’m paying $1,300.\u201d<\/p>\n The price hikes by Eli Lilly mean a month\u2019s private prescription of the highest doses of Mounjaro – the \u201cKing Kong<\/a>\u201d of weight-loss medicine – will rise from \u00a3122 to \u00a3330, which is an increase of 170 per cent.<\/p>\n The shift to Ozempic is “continuing to run at about 500 to 600 per cent at the moment, and we are not surprised to see that”, claimed Toby Nicol, founder and chief executive of Chequp, a provider of the weight-loss treatment.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Mounjaro, said prices of the drug will almost triple from 1 September to bring it in line with other countries (PA Wire)<\/p>\n “People living with obesity have been waiting for weight-loss drugs for decades. They are literally the magic bullet for many people, and they suddenly find that the drug they’re on has doubled in price,” he told The Independent.<\/p>\n “We understand why they’ve done it, but the impact on patients is very dramatic. People encouraged to start a weight-loss journey have now been told the prices are going up. It’s a kick in the teeth for them, it really is.”<\/p>\n He warned patients should only switch treatments under the supervision of a trusted pharmacist to manage any potential health risks.<\/p>\n Eli Lilly said when it launched Mounjaro in the UK, it agreed to a list price \u201csignificantly below<\/a>\u201d that in its three other European markets to prevent delays in availability through the NHS.<\/p>\n In a statement, the company said “prices for medicines paid by governments and health systems need to increase in other developed markets like Europe in order to make them lower in the US”.<\/p>\n A spokesperson added: “We are continuing to work with certain governments and expect to make any necessary pricing adjustments by 1 September, while providing continued access for patients. This includes an agreement with the UK government to increase the list price of Mounjaro, while maintaining access for NHS patients.”<\/p>\n At least 500,000 people<\/a> in the UK take either Mounjaro or Wegovy<\/a>, another weight-loss jab, via prescriptions from private online pharmacies, according to retailers.<\/p>\n![\"Sales](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1690016052.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Eli](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/17df31494de042e884ba1f8fd3e1c4f9Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzUzNzAxOTM0-2.80825588.jpg\")
<\/p>\n