The UK government, devolved nations and NHS England have signed a collaboration agreement with Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant behind weight loss medication tirzepatide.

The government said the ‘strategic’ agreement will see Lilly investing a further £279m in the UK life sciences industry, in a bid to find new treatment models for major illnesses including obesity.

Lilly also said it will launch a UK-based real-world study into the effects of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) on patients who take the weight loss medication, which could inform the NHS pathway for treatment of obesity.

It will evaluate the real-world effectiveness of tirzepatide in weight loss, diabetes prevention and prevention of obesity-related complications for adults with obesity.

It will also collect data on healthcare resource utilisation, health-related quality of life and changes in participants’ employment status and sick days from work, the company said.

The government said the memorandum of understanding with the company ‘aims to set the stage’ for government ‘to work with industry to trial innovative approaches to treating obesity as part of a rounded package of care’.

Lilly said this could include digital tools that could support people living with obesity.

The MoU also includes Lilly aiming to undertake more of its clinical trials in the UK.

Subject to draft guidance being made permanent, tirzepatide is the first weight-loss drug recommended by NICE to be prescribed directly by GPs, for patients with a BMI over 35kg/m2 and one weight-related comorbidity.

However, NHS England recently wrote to NICE setting out proposed plans for a phased approach to the rollout of the drug in primary care, to ensure general practice was not overwhelmed.

NHS England said it would need longer than the 90 days usually required for health services to implement NICE guidelines because the impact on general practice would be ‘profound’.

It also wants to raise the threshold BMI to 40 for the first two or three years of the phased rollout.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: ‘Obesity is one of the biggest public health issues we face. Today’s momentous agreement shows the NHS is uniquely well-placed globally not just to bring effective treatments to those who would benefit most, but also to support science, research, jobs and economic growth across the country.

‘We now have an important chance to gain a better understanding of the benefits of weight management interventions for patients, and how best to deliver them over the next few years.’

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘For all the challenges facing the health of our nation, we have two huge advantages: some of the world’s leading scientific minds, and a National Health Service with enormous potential.

‘If we can combine the two, patients in this country can reap the rewards of the revolution in medical science unfolding before our eyes.

‘This announcement helps the UK take its place as a world leader in life sciences and brings life-changing treatments closer to being a reality for NHS patients. Partnerships like this are key to building a healthier society, healthier economy, and making the NHS fit for the future.’

According to NHS England calculations, around 2.8 million patients would be eligible for tirzepatide as draft NICE recommendations currently stand.

If everyone came forward and 70% of those were started on treatment around 18% of GP appointments would be taken up just initiating and managing the medicine, NHSE has predicted.

The cost of the medicine alone in the second year of use would come in around £2.9bn, equivalent to 28% of the entire primary care medicines budget, it added.

Many community pharmacies began offering a tirzepatide service earlier this year after the four-dose Mounjaro KwikPen was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Earlier this month, Alastair Buxton, director of NHS services at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), told The Pharmacist that community pharmacies were 'well placed to offer a variety of prevention and public health service such as weight management'.

In fact, he noted that commissioning pharmacies to offer weight management advice and support was recommended by Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund in their Vision for Community Pharmacy and was recently included in CPE's service development priorities.

But he said that many pharmacy owners were struggling to manage even their current services at the moment, with CPE's June snap poll revealing that nearly a third of pharmacies had stopped provision of some advanced services.

'Being forced to cull services shows just how desperate the state the sector is in, as we continue to tell DHSC and NHS England, insisting they need to act now to stabilise the finances of community pharmacies,' Mr Buxton said.

A version of this article first appeared on our sister website Pulse.