Government Teams Up with Mounjaro Maker in Bold Move Against Obesity
In a UK-wide initiative, the Government has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company behind the weight loss injection Mounjaro, aiming to revolutionise obesity care across the country.
This collaboration, backed by a hefty £85 million investment, intends to make weight management treatments more accessible, not just in hospitals, but through local pharmacies and online platforms.
Patients could soon receive support closer to home or even digitally, streamlining access to vital care.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasised the urgency: “This collaboration will help patients living with obesity in a matter of months – through testing better access to weight loss services and treatments.” He highlighted obesity as a major health crisis, draining billions from the NHS.
Under the deal, the Government will contribute up to £50 million, with Eli Lilly matching this with £35 million. NHS bodies across the UK can apply for funding to trial new ways of delivering obesity care, aiming to build a robust evidence base for what works best.
Officials are optimistic that by summer 2026, eligible patients could begin benefiting from these innovative services.
“This is about more than just treatment,” Mr Streeting added. “In the long-term it will inform how we can better tackle one of the biggest modern day health challenges and, through our Plan for Change, create an NHS that is fit for the future.”
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the initiative could transform lives: “New ways of accessing support could be transformational for people’s quality of life, and for society.”
He noted the potential to ease the burden on the NHS by preventing ill-health that often hampers daily living.
NHS England’s national medical director Dr Claire Fuller welcomed the move, stressing the scale of the problem.
“Obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges we face and costs the NHS billions of pounds every year, so this collaboration between government and industry to drive new ways of supporting people with obesity could make a huge difference.”
She also highlighted ongoing NHS efforts, combining local weight management teams and online services, and called this new partnership a vital step in shifting from treatment to prevention under the 10-Year Health Plan.
Professor Rachel Batterham, senior vice president for international medical affairs at Eli Lilly, described the launch as “an important milestone in advancing new models of care for obesity.”
Mounjaro, often called the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss drugs, has already been rolled out in phases since June this year, primarily for patients with a BMI over 40 and multiple health conditions. Over the next three years, some 240,000 patients in England are expected to be eligible for the injection.
Adding to the excitement, Eli Lilly recently published trial results for a new daily weight loss pill called orforglipron, which showed an average weight loss of 12.3 kilograms over 72 weeks, a promising alternative to injections.
This collaboration marks a bold step forward in addressing obesity in the UK, blending science, technology, and new care pathways to ease patient access and improve outcomes.
