Ozempic sales have risen five-fold after a 126 per cent rise in the price of the Mounjaro drug due to pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Mounjaro, manufactured by U.S. pharma giant Eli Lilly, has been the UK’s most popular weight loss jab, prescribed to an estimated 90 per cent of the country’s patients.
But around 625,000 patients are expected to switch to Wegovy (Ozempic) after Eli Lilly said the price per jab for Mounjaro would rise by an average of 126 per cent, and up to 170 per cent for the largest doses.
In the first 24 hours after Lilly’s announcement, Ozempic sales rose by 400 per cent, according to weight loss jab provider CheqUp.
This surged to 600 per cent by the 48-hour mark as patients looked to avoid the price hike, which comes into force on September 1.
“As news of the Mounjaro price rise spreads, weight loss jab patients are voting with their wallets and making the switch to Wegovy, which is nearly as effective but has a considerably lower cost,” Toby Nicol, CEO at CheqUp, said.
“It is too early to say for sure, but Wegovy will probably become the most popular weight loss treatment in the UK as patients switch from Mounjaro following Thursday’s news.”
As many as 80 per cent of Mounjaro users have said they will switch or come off the drug due to the price rise, according to CheqUp.
Eli Lilly raised the price of the drug in response to complaints by Donald Trump’s administration about “foreign freeloaders” who rely on the US to pay more for medicines.
The company said the price increase in the UK would “address pricing inconsistencies compared with other developed countries, including in Europe”.
The market for weight-loss drugs hit around $50bn (£36bn) by the end of 2024 and is expected to double by the end of the decade, according to Morgan Stanley.