Weight Loss Medication

Lord Kamall Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, I want to follow up on what the Minister has just said and the previous question from the noble Baroness. As we have heard from the personal testimonies of noble Lords, these medications have the potential to reduce obesity and the long-term cost to taxpayers. Unfortunately, a recent study by the MHRA has found that a group of these drugs, including Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic, may be associated with health problems such as inflammation of the pancreas.

Given that, and some of the previous questions, first, what assessment of the long-term impact on health have the Government made of these weight-loss medications? What data do they have as of now, and what data are they waiting for? Secondly, as the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, said, how do we ensure that, when patients come off these medications, they do not just put all the weight back on? How do we make sure that they are part of a wider programme to keep the weight off?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

Quite a few points were made there. I think the noble Lord is referring to reports about acute pancreatitis, for example. The MHRA has done a thorough review of the suspicions around these medicines. No new safety concerns were identified but, every time something comes up, it will be looked into. The noble Lord is absolutely right that we need to support the longitudinal studies that are happening, but going on beyond the initial licensing will also be critical. As I answered previously, work in other areas to encourage healthy lifestyles will be ongoing, and this will need to be taken seriously by patients from a very young age.