Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the geographic disparities in the prescription of semiglutides for patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

While semaglutide is not licensed as a treatment option for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), clinicians can prescribe medicines outside their licensed indication, known as off-label prescribing, where they consider it to be the best treatment option for their patient, and subject to funding by the National Health Service locally. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked to develop a clinical guideline on PCOS which will make evidence-based recommendations for clinicians on best practice.

No assessment has been made of the geographic disparities in the prescription of semaglutides for patients with PCOS as data on the reason for a prescription is not available, and semaglutide may be prescribed for a range of conditions.