Source: Radio New Zealand
Wegovy is a weight loss drug that is injected weekly. JENS KALAENE
Pharmac has taken the first steps towards funding weight loss drug Wegovy after an advisory panel provisionally recommended funding it as a high priority for some people.
Wegovy or semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight loss.
The drug first became available here in July last year, and currently costs about $460 a month.
Pharmac Director of Advice and Assessment, David Hughes, said the Obesity Treatments Advisory Group have provisionally recommended it be funded for chronic weight management in people with a high Body Mass Index (BMI) and associated comorbidities.
The recommendation is subject to Special Authority criteria, which will limit who can prescribe it.
The recommendation has been announced after the advisory group met in December, with a full record of the meeting expected to be available by March.
Previously, Pharmac had received two applications to fund Wegovy.
The first was in September, for people with an established cardiovascular disease (such as someone who has had a heart attack or stroke) and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27 or higher. The second was in October, for chronic weight management in people with a BMI of 30 or higher, with at least one weight-related comorbidity.
New Zealand has the third-highest adult obesity rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
