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Study to gauge how obesity treatment impacts employment

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Obesity costs health service 11 billion pounds a year

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Health minister says impact of drug could be 'monumental'

(Adds details in paragraphs 4 and 7, NHS comment paragraphs

11-12)

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Britain will study whether

the use of Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) 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 ($365.4 million) investment in Britain as part of a

flagship summit hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The deal included "a major real-world study" on the

effectiveness of tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro in Britain,

which could reduce the burden on the state-run National Health

Service.

Streeting said obesity was costing the NHS 11 billion pounds

a year and meant people took more sick leave or were forced out

of the jobs market altogether.

"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,

which will have up to 3,000 participants, 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

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 health service, already struggling after years of crises,

was not put under further strain.

"The NHS can't be expected to always pick up the tab for

unhealthy lifestyles," he said.

NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said the study would

provide valuable insights for the health service.

"Obesity is one of the biggest public health issues we face,

and we know weight loss drugs will be a game-changer," she said.

($1 = 0.7635 pounds)