Health authorities are evaluating whether a game-changing new obesity drug should be used in Ireland because of the high cost it would impose on the healthcare budget.
Semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy and approved by the European Medicines Agency in March, can reduce body weight by 15 per cent, but may cost about €250 a month per patient.
Britain has already decided to restrict the expensive drug’s availability to very obese people attending specialist weight-loss clinics, and will not make it available from GPs. The HSE is expected to follow suit here.
One in four Irish adults have obesity — almost 900,000 people. Wegovy is recommended for people who are obese, or particularly overweight with at least one weight-related complication, such as pre-diabetes or high blood
