Weight loss drugs for the unemployed—how will the government’s new trial work?

What has been announced?

A new partnership between the government and the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly1 will trial “innovative approaches to treating obesity as part of a rounded package of care,” the government has said.

A key part of this collaboration will involve a five year, real world trial called Surmount-Real UK to evaluate the effectiveness of the weight loss drug tirzepatide—a glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) that’s similar to semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic). The study will look at its impact on weight loss, the prevention of obesity related complications, health related quality of life, changes in participants employment status, and how many sick days participants take from work.

This trial will be carried out in partnership with Health Innovation Manchester and the University of Manchester. Principal investigator Martin Rutter, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the university, said the trial will focus on the “long term efficacy and safety profile of tirzepatide in a primary care setting compared with usual care.”2

It’s not yet clear how many people will be recruited for the trial, what the inclusion criteria will be, or when it will start.

Is tirzepatide available on the NHS?

In June …