UK strikes deal with pharmaceutical giant Lilly to offer cutting-edge obesity treatments through NHS
Tens of thousands of NHS patients living with obesity could get cutting-edge help to improve their health, thanks to a new health innovation programme announced on Tuesday (12 August).
Backed by up to £85 million from the government and Lilly – one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies – this programme aims to make it easier for patients living with obesity to access holistic care to improve their health.
It will do so by enabling access to weight management care more easily, wherever they live, through new routes like digital platforms, local community-based access, and pharmacies.
Improving the health of patients living with obesity will help to ease pressure on the NHS and GPs, as well as helping more people living with obesity to participate fully in work, supporting the government’s Plan for Change mission to rebuild the health system and support people to live healthier lives.
The UK government will contribute up to £50 million of new UK-wide investment, and Lilly will contribute up to £35 million of grant funding, with NHS organisations able to come up with proposals and apply for a share of the funding. At least £10 million of this funding is earmarked to support proposals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The programme will be open to proposals from across the UK. In participating areas, eligible patients could access innovative services as early as summer 2026.
Besides the potential benefits to individuals’ health and wellbeing, this could help bring down the £11 billion annual cost to the NHS of supporting patients living with obesity, the government said.
“New ways of accessing support to tackle obesity, such as through pharmacies or with help from digital tools, could be transformational for people’s quality of life, and for society – allowing individuals to more easily manage their weight and freeing them from ill-health that holds them back in daily life – while reducing the strain on our NHS,” said Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle.
“This programme also underlines life sciences’ critical value to our Plan for Change and our modern Industrial Strategy. By working hand-in-hand with one of the world’s largest life sciences companies, we are driving investment into the UK and tackling one of the greatest health challenges of our era.”
