Eli Lilly's US$364m UK Investment Targets Obesity Crisis

More than one billion people across the world are obese. Obesity is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and even certain cancers. Yet despite the dangers, it’s on the rise. No matter personal feelings or preferences, obesity is a global public health issue that the healthcare industry is scrambling to solve. 

Now, Eli Lilly has shared that it wants to invest US$364m in the UK to tackle obesity, as well as other public health problems. 

Eli Lilly is one of the world’s oldest pharmaceutical companies, known for its clinical depression drug Prozac and its diabetes drugs, Humalog and Trulicity.

Eli Lilly’s weight loss innovation supports those with obesity complications

Eli Lilly’s proposal was revealed at the UK government's International Investment Summit, where the company also discussed the creation of a UK biotech hub, Lilly Gateway Labs (LGL). This facility will support early-stage life sciences businesses as they research new healthcare solutions.

The LGL plan would receive £204m of funding over three years, offering start-ups with Lilly's expertise, access to laboratories and possible financial investments. This would establish the first LGL site in Europe, next to Lilly’s four other LGLs across the US.

Lilly has announced plans to start a five-year study of real-world evidence looking at tirzepatide, the dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist in the company's Mounjaro drug for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Mounjaro was authorised as a weight-loss treatment by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2023 and has been endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a phased rollout. This would make the drug available to obese people, with complications ranging from hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, as well as cardiovascular disease. 

How the healthcare sector can partner with governments to tackle and prevent disease

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting has suggested that weight-loss jabs could be provided to people who are unemployed, to help them get back into work.

"I think that some of these drugs can be game changing in terms of tackling obesity. For those people that are so obese, that diet, exercise doesn't feel like it's having much of an impact, it feels like you're on a losing battle. I think the drugs can make a really big impact in terms of getting weight under control,” he said.

However, the Health Secretary was clear that the drugs were not to be used as an excuse to not do the right thing in terms of diet, nutrition and exercise.

"Where I think we've just got to be careful, though, is that we don't see these drugs as cosmetic drugs for the Instagram perfect body. Drugs do come at a cost.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged that the government needed to ‘think differently’ to reduce pressure on the health system and Lilly's CEO, David Ricks, said he welcomed the opportunity to partner with the UK Government on tackling and preventing disease and accelerating innovation to advance care delivery models.

"Today's announcement is an important milestone and we are pleased to reinforce Lilly's commitment to improving health for people living with obesity and its serious consequences," said David.
 

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