Tirzepatide, available as Mounjaro, has been hailed as the ‘King Kong’ of slimming jabs — more effective for shifting the pounds than similar drugs like Ozempic.
Yesterday the NHS spending watchdog confirmed it would be rolled out to over 200,000 of the 3.4 million eligible Brits over the next three years.
Concerns it could overwhelm the NHS mean the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has agreed to give the health service more than a decade to introduce it fully — an unprecedented move for a medication.
But there have been growing concerns about misleading statements on the medications’ safety and risk of severe injuries, including stomach paralysis and gallbladder issues.
Like all drugs, Mounjaro is not without side-effects.
Now doctors have also taken to social media to warn of another potentially fatal side effect patients must be aware of when starting the injection.
US-based medic Dr Ethan Melillo, said pancreatitis — when the pancreas suddenly becomes inflammed — is a ‘rare but serious side effect’.
He told his 450,000-plus TikTok followers: ‘I tell patients that if you experience any pain in your stomach that radiates to your back then let me know right away.
There have been growing concerns about misleading statements on the drugs’ safety and risk of severe gastrointestinal injury, including stomach paralysis and gallbladder issues
‘We can then discuss stopping the medication.
‘Your doctor may also do blood work as well on an annual basis just to make sure that you’re tolerating the medication.’
If left untreated, pancreatitis can lead to life-threatening complications such as multiple organ failure, kidney problems and breathing issues.
Studies have already suggested there may be a link between Mounjaro and an increased risk of pancreatitis — when the pancreas suddenly becomes inflammed.
However, there isn’t enough evidence yet to prove who is at increased risk of this side effect and why the drug could trigger it.
One theory is that it increases levels of certain pancreatic enzymes in the blood. Problems with these enzymes may then cause them to try to digest the pancreas itself, triggering pancreatitis.
Also known as tirzepatide, the weekly drug has been hailed a ‘game-changing’ treatment.
Yesterday, NICE ruled that 3.4 million adults are eligible for Mounjaro.
Susan McGowan, 58, from Lanarkshire, died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis after taking two low-dose injections of tirzepatide
Under the guidelines, it is recommended for those with a body mass index of more than 35 and at least one weight-related illness.
But a lack of NHS capacity means only 220,000 of these patients, fewer than one in ten, will be given the drug over the next three years.
Costing £122 a month, regulators say it should be prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and exercise.
It will be available to these patients within 90 days of the final guidance being published on December 23.
Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is the second of this class of weight-loss medications to be approved for use on the NHS after Wegovy last year.
It works by reducing food cravings and making the stomach to empty more slowly, resulting in weight loss.
Latest results published this week showed patients typically lost more than 20 per cent of their body weight, compared with less than 14 per cent when on semaglutide, the key ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
Almost a third (32 per cent) lost at least a quarter of their body weight after 72 weeks, double that of its main rival.
Scottish nurse, Ms McGowan, bought a prescription through a registered online pharmacy after looking into Mounjaro and seeking medical advice
Growing evidence has also shown they could be key to a range of additional health benefits from reducing heart disease to some types of cancer.
However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, also warns Mounjaro side effects could include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting — which usually goes away over time — and constipation.
People taking the drug outside clinical trials have also reported experiencing hair loss while taking Mounjaro.
Earlier this year it was revealed the MHRA had received reports of ten deaths linked to the use of weight loss jabs in the UK and 7,228 reports of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea associated with the likes of Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Of these, 68 patients were admitted to hospital.
A reported death or adverse reaction does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that someone had a suspicion it may have been.
Underlying or concurrent illnesses and other medicines the patients may have been taken at the time of their death may be responsible and such events can also be coincidental.
Last month, the UK also recorded its first death officially linked to Mounjaro.
One case report published in August also found an obese American man was left in excruciating pain and forced to attend the emergency room after Mounjaro left him suffering an overactive thyroid
Susan McGowan, a 58 year-old nurse from Lanarkshire, died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis after taking two low-dose injections of tirzepatide.
She took the jabs for a two-week period before her death on September 4. It is thought to be the first time the medicine has been listed as a contributing factor on a death certificate.
Scottish nurse, Ms McGowan, bought a prescription through a registered online pharmacy after looking into Mounjaro and seeking medical advice.
Following her death, her niece Jade told the BBC: ‘Susan had always carried a wee bit of extra weight but there were never any health concerns. She wasn’t on any other medication. She was healthy.’
‘Susan was such a bubbly person. She was really generous, she was really kind and she was the life of the party — a huge personality.
‘They said she had the biggest laugh in the hospital.’
