UK approves Novo weight-loss pill to edge open European market

By Bhanvi Satija and Christy Santhosh

June 11 (Reuters) - Britain's medicine regulator approved Novo Nordisk's weight-loss pill on Thursday, making the UK the first market in Europe where patients can access the oral treatment and boosting the Danish drugmaker as it battles U.S. rival Eli Lilly.

The approval gives more than 10 million people with obesity in the UK an alternative to injections as drugmakers race to expand use of the medicines that have transformed weight-loss treatment and reshaped the global pharmaceutical industry.

The pill contains semaglutide, the same active ingredient as Novo's blockbuster injectable drugs Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes.

Novo received early approval in the United States for its weight-loss pill and launched there this year. Lilly quickly followed with its oral medication, Foundayo, after receiving regulatory clearance in April.

Both drugmakers believe pills could appeal to patients reluctant to use injections as the companies compete in the rapidly growing obesity drug market. Analysts expect this market to cross $100 billion in revenue by 2030.

"For some people, an oral formulation may make treatment more acceptable than injectable therapies," said Dr Marie Spreckley of the University of Cambridge, adding the tablet must be taken on an empty stomach and 30 minutes before eating.

"The key questions now relate to access, uptake, long-term adherence, and how best to integrate this treatment into routine care pathways," she said.

PRIVATE-PAY MARKET

About 2.4 million people in the UK used GLP-1 drugs last year. Only about 200,000 of them accessed treatment through the state-run National Health Service, according to data from IQVIA. The rest obtained them privately, where the drugs can cost hundreds of pounds a month.

Britain's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence must assess the pill before it can become available on the NHS.

Until then, patients can access the Wegovy pill through private providers, which will control its price, Novo said.

A NICE spokesperson said the agency was in active discussions with Novo, but that the company must still make an evidence submission for the institute to make a recommendation.

"Oral GLP-1s will bring more people into treatment and give patients greater choice, but they are not silver bullets," said Danielle Brightman, clinical director at UK-based private digital healthcare platform Numan.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru, Bhanvi Satija and Maggie Fick in London; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Cynthia Osterman)