U.K. to limit Eli Lilly obesity drug to patients with ‘highest’ need

LONDON — The U.K. will start offering Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug next year, but will restrict the medicine to people with the greatest need as the country tries to adapt to new ways of treating obesity amid surging demand. 

Health authorities in the U.K. recommend tirzepatide, sold there as Mounjaro, for people with a body mass index of more than 35 and at least one related health condition. But those criteria would make 3.4 million patients eligible for the drug in England alone. 

Instead, the country’s National Health Service will aim to first treat roughly 220,000 people with tirzepatide — alongside a specialized, reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity — who have the highest clinical need.