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UK Mounjaro Weight-Loss Jab Price to Rocket 170% Amid Trump Drug Price Push – But NHS Patients Spared
Euroweekly News ^ | 15 Aug 2025 | Marc Menendez-Roche

Posted on 08/15/2025 11:46:50 AM PDT by nickcarraway

Private patients who rely on the hit weight-loss jab Mounjaro are facing a brutal price surge of up to 170% from September, after US drug giant Eli Lilly confirmed it is hiking UK prices to match other European countries.

The monthly cost for the highest dose of Mounjaro, also used to treat type 2 diabetes, will leap from £122 to a staggering £330. The increase will not hit NHS patients, who are covered under a separate deal, but those paying privately – often via online clinics or high street pharmacies – will feel the full force of the ris

Lilly admits it initially sold Mounjaro in the UK “significantly below” prices in France, Germany and Italy to speed up NHS access. Now, the company says it is “aligning” prices across Europe.

Critics warn the change could price many UK patients out of treatment, as private prescriptions for weight-loss jabs have soared in recent years with celebrities and influencers fuelling demand.

The drug’s list price is set by the manufacturer before discounts, but private providers such as Boots, Superdrug and online pharmacies can set their own charges. Some may absorb part of the increase – though insiders say most will simply pass it on to customers.

The NHS has approved Mounjaro for certain type 2 diabetes patients, but weight-loss use is still tightly restricted on the National Health Service, leaving many to fund it themselves.

Health campaigners have accused Big Pharma of using British patients as “cash cows” to make up for lower profits in the US.

Why a White House plan is hitting British patients in the pocket The move comes as US President Donald Trump pushes drugmakers to hike prices overseas so he can slash costs at home. America pays almost three times more for prescription drugs than most other rich nations, and the White House says it is determined to close the gap.

Eli Lilly will lift the UK list price of its weight‑loss and diabetes jab Mounjaro from £122 to £330 for the top dose from September, saying it is aligning with Europe as the White House pushes drugmakers to rebalance prices abroad while cutting them at home. NHS patients are shielded by a separate agreement, but private buyers will feel the hike.

The US has no national cap on medicine prices and pays about 2.8 times more on average than other rich countries. President Trump has vowed to close that gap, leaning on industry and eyeing “most‑favoured nation” style benchmarks that tie US prices to overseas levels.

By contrast, the UK uses NICE to assess value and NHS England to commission care, which keeps public‑sector prices in check. Those controls do not apply to private prescriptions, where pharmacies set their own prices and patients pay in full.

Who can get Mounjaro on the NHS: Is it a postcode lottery? Mounjaro is now approved for adults with obesity, but the rules are strict. Under NICE guidance (TA1026), you need a BMI of 35 or more and at least one serious weight-related health problem – such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or sleep apnoea – to qualify.

If you’re from a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean background, the BMI cut-off is lower by 2.5 points, reflecting the higher health risks in these groups.

It’s being rolled out in both GP surgeries and specialist weight-management clinics, but not everywhere at once. NHS England began the phased rollout across Integrated Care Boards in March 2025, so where you live still makes a big difference to how quickly you can get it..

When UK drug prices spiked before

One of the worst cases was the thyroid drug liothyronine. Its price rocketed from about £20 in 2009 to nearly £250 a pack by 2017. Watchdogs called it “excessive and unfair” and hit the maker, Advanz Pharma, with a £99 million fine – a penalty upheld in court earlier this year.

Another scandal came in 2017-18, when shortages sent the price of some everyday generic medicines through the roof. The NHS ended up paying an extra £315 million, blowing local budgets and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. Should drug firms be stopped from hiking prices so sharply – or is it just business?

NHS Prescription (England)

-£9.90 per item in 2025/26 – the charge remains frozen at this rate. Each medicine listed on a prescription counts as a separate item.

-Many people are exempt – including children under 16, people over 60, pregnant women, those with certain long-term conditions and people on low incomes.

-A Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) can cut costs for people who need regular medication: £32.05 for 3 months or £114.50 for 12 months.

Private Prescription

-You pay the full cost of the medicine plus a dispensing fee, which varies by pharmacy.

-In some cases, especially with low-cost generics, private prescriptions can work out cheaper than £9.90, but prices vary and there is no national cap.

-For specialist or branded medicines, private prescription prices can easily reach £50 to over £200 depending on the drug and provider.

Marc is a writer, educator, and language enthusiast with a background in business and legal communication. With over a decade of experience in writing and teaching, he brings a clear, engaging voice to complex topics—guided by a keen interest in educational neuroscience and how people learn. At Euro Weekly News, Marc contributes lifestyle features and community-focused stories that highlight everyday life across Spain. His ability to connect language, learning, and lived experience helps bring depth and relatability to the topics he covers.

Covering the Almeria, Axarquia, Costa Blanca North, Costa Blanca South, Costa del Sol , Costa Calida, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.

With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.

Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Society
KEYWORDS: mounjaro; nhs; uk

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Can anyone explain to me why U.S. taxpayers subsidize European healthcare?

And why are we still subsidizing the NHS. Imagine how unhappy they would be with NHS, without our contributions?

Why does the U.S. government consider U.S. citizens beneath citizens of other countries and they are more loyal to them?

Europeans love to bash us for our healthcare, but their is based on stealing from us.

1 posted on 08/15/2025 11:46:50 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

This will Kill-a-Mounjaro ..............


2 posted on 08/15/2025 11:47:31 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

My wife was paying $600, the US was being robbed.


3 posted on 08/15/2025 11:59:55 AM PDT by brookwood (America Was Built By MS-13. We Are A Nation Of MS-13.)
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To: nickcarraway

It’s a good sign that the price is going up overseas. They haven’t bee carrying their share of the development costs.


4 posted on 08/15/2025 12:18:59 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: brookwood

“My wife was paying $600, the US was being robbed.”

Problem is that doctors are prescribing it for a weight loss drug and not the original use which was for type II. They did the same thing to Ozempic and it flew out of the pharmacies till they couldn’t get it for diabetes and other drugs were used that didn’t have quite the heart or stroke concern. And they are even different types of agonists as Ozempic is a semaglutide and Mounjaro is a tirzepatide. The popularity of these drugs, fueled by celebrity endorsements and perceived effectiveness, has outstripped supply, leading to shortages and further contributing to price increases. I had to change drugs twice to finally get the supply I needed. I will not tell you what it is on public boards as that could leak and my supply zero out again.

wy69


5 posted on 08/15/2025 12:54:36 PM PDT by whitney69
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To: Brilliant
It’s a good sign that the price is going up overseas.

No its not. We don't win by Europe losing this war. Health care costs are outrageous everywhere. The problem is we have monopsonies buying from monopolies and the former are run by idiot sheep who are there for the fleecing while the latter are run by sharks and wolves. It is pure socialism layered with the crony capitalism that socialism necessarily evolves into. And you have BigConsulting (TM) advising the private monopolies how to maximize the take by minimizing the service. There is no free market in any of this. Oh, and let you forget - it's just a tax - just a taste, a little bit of grease to keep everything moving along.

6 posted on 08/15/2025 1:04:44 PM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: nickcarraway

The NHS has a budget of $100s billions that they can decide which drugs to buy with. That gives them negotiating leverage, as Trump might say.


7 posted on 08/15/2025 1:38:55 PM PDT by sinsofsolarempirefan
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To: AndyJackson

The whole purpose of trumps most favored nation order on pharma was to get the rest of the world to pay more so that we can pay less.


8 posted on 08/16/2025 1:33:19 PM PDT by Brilliant
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