Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether patients can be re-administered weight loss medication on the NHS if they regain weight following treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources, and for providing guidance for the health and care system on best practice.

The NICE has published guidance on semaglutide (Wegovy) for managing overweight and obesity. It states that it should be used for a maximum of two years. Re-prescribing Wegovy would be at the discretion of local systems following an additional referral. Integrated care boards are responsible for arranging the provision of health services within their area in line with local priorities, considering population need, and taking account of relevant guidance. This includes the commissioning of NHS specialist weight management services.

The NICE has not yet published final guidance on the use of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for managing overweight and obesity. In its draft guidance, there is no mandatory stopping time, but the NICE does recommend that treatment cessation should be considered if less than 5% of the initial weight has been lost after six months.

Neither Wegovy nor Mounjaro has time limits on their use in their Summary of Products Characteristics documents, which describe the properties and the officially approved conditions of use of a medicine. Information is continuously collected after a medicine is placed on the market, to monitor real-life experience with the product. The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency closely monitors this information, to make sure that the benefits of the medicine continue to outweigh the risks. Both Wegovy and Mounjaro contain new active substances and are subject to additional monitoring through the Black Triangle Scheme, though this does not mean that they are unsafe.