"King Kong" of weight loss drugs should be available for free in Ireland, expert says

Ireland's foremost expert on obesity has urged the Health Service Executive (HSE) to make the "King Kong" of weight loss drugs available free of charge.

It comes as the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned the drugs regulatory authority has received almost 900 reports of people suffering side effects from weight loss jabs such as Ozempic.

Professor Donal O’Shea, a consultant endocrinologist and the HSE’s National Clinical Lead for Obesity, said Mounjaro, which went on sale in Ireland last week, is "a life-changing drug" that should not just be available to those who can afford to pay for the monthly jab.

Developed by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, it can currently only be given to those who can get a private prescription at a cost of between €250 and €280 a month.

Prof O’Shea told the Mail on Sunday: "Having Mounjaro available is very positive, we’re delighted. But making it available only to people who can afford it, we are obviously very unhappy about that, and we would want to see that situation change as soon as is possible.

"That’s not the kind of society we want where inequality becomes greater with the emergence of these drugs. That’s not something anybody working in the health system wants to see.

"We will be asking that the company make a submission to the HSE [for it to be on the Drugs Reimbursement Scheme] and the obesity programme will be strongly supporting the availability of this drug and other drugs that are going to be coming for the treatment of obesity."

"Not everybody with obesity has complications and these drugs are cost-effective for patients with complicated obesity. We’ve been looking at obesity rates climbing for 30 years. Prevention is important in stopping people developing this disease. But once they have it, ‘eat less, move more’ is not the treatment.

"They either need access to surgery or access to medication that is effective. ‘But there haven’t been effective medications until the last few years so getting access to it and having availability is a really important first step."

Mounjaro was dubbed the "King Kong" of weight loss medication because of its effectiveness in treating obesity. After a year of monthly injections, a severely overweight person can lose up to 20 percent of their body weight – twice that of alternatives on the market such as Ozempic.

And according to Prof O’Shea, this is what makes the drug such a "life-changing" medication. The lead clinician at Dublin’s St Vincent’s and St Columcille’s hospitals said: "With previous medicines you could hope somebody could lose 10 percent maybe at best, sometimes five percent would be very effective. With Mounjaro you are looking at 15 percent weight loss and that’s very significant clinically for somebody’s health trajectory. It’s life-changing."

Ozempic was developed to treat diabetes but has been hailed as a wonder weight-loss treatment and used by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey. Instead of taking a pill daily, those prescribed the medication have a weekly injection.

A month’s supply usually costs around €150 to buy in Ireland but is available for much less in some other countries. Wegovy, a version of Ozempic specifically for weight loss, has since been developed.

However, Mounjaro can be given to people with type 2 diabetes as well as those who are obese or overweight. The dose given varies depending on whether it is prescribed for diabetes or weight loss.

Mounjaro only became legally available in Ireland last Monday, February 17.

However, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) have been seizing illicit stocks of the drug for the past year.

Figures provided by the HPRA show that, between January and November 2024, up to 1,469 units of Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro were seized. Most of these medications were bought online.

A HPRA spokeswoman said: "These prescriptions are all illegal prescription medicines. There is limited information about their sources, manufacturing conditions or safety. Any such products promoted online are likely falsified and potentially dangerous to those who take them."

The HPRA also confirmed it has been notified of 859 reports of suspected side effects "associated with semaglutide-containing medicine," which includes Ozempic and Wegovy.

Common side effects from taking weight loss medications such as Ozempic include nausea, dehydration, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

An inquest into the death of Cork grandmother Breeda O’Donoghue last month found the 66-year-old died from total organ failure less than three months after being prescribed Ozempic.

The mother-of-two had type 2 diabetes and had been taking separate medication for this condition. She was prescribed Ozempic in September 2023 after gaining weight. State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster, said she died from total organ failure. Cork City Coroner Philip Comyn concluded her death was caused by a known complication of a prescribed medication.

Weight loss expert Dr. Ninnette de Klerk of the Ailesbury Clinic in Dublin this weekend warned about the use of Ozempic and Mounjaro as "skinny jabs," and urged severely overweight people to seek medical advice if they want to avoid developing saggy skin and the dreaded ‘Ozempic’ wrinkly skin from drastic weight loss.

Dr. de Klerk told the Mail on Sunday: "People should not see these drugs as a skinny jab and as a way of losing a few kilos with these injections. That is not what they are for.

"These drugs are to treat the disease of obesity, and they are not for people who are a little overweight and want to lose a few kilos. If it’s prescribed to the right people, it’s life changing."

Eli Lilly confirmed on Saturday it was seeking HSE approval for the medication to be included in the Drug Refund Scheme. A spokeswoman told the Mail on Sunday: "We are fully engaged and working with the NCPE (National Centre of Pharma Economics) to make Mounjaro available as widely as possible, in line with its therapeutic indication."

A HSE spokeswoman said that "applications for Mounjaro remain under consideration."

*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.