Britain will study whether the use of Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug can get people back into work and help tackle the high rate of long-term sickness that has become a major drag on the economy.

Health minister Wes Streeting predicted the use of the drug – a competitor to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic – could help transform the health of the nation, after Lilly announced a 279 million pound ($365 million) investment in Britain as part of a flagship summit hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The deal included “a major real-world study into obesity” on the effectiveness of tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro in Britain.

“The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity,” Streeting wrote in an article in the Telegraph newspaper.

“For many people, these weight-loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS.”

The University of Manchester will coordinate the study and collect data on “health-related quality of life and changes in participants’ employment status and sick days from work.”

Earlier this month, England’s National Health Service (NHS) outlined a plan to give the drug to nearly a quarter of a million people as part of a three-year plan.

Streeting said that while the drug would be a tool to tackle obesity, people would need to make lifestyle changes too so that the state-run health service, already struggling after years of crises, was not put under further strain.

“Along with the rights to access these new drugs, there must remain a responsibility on us all to take healthy living more seriously,” Streeting said.

“The NHS can’t be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles.”

(Reuters)