Mounjaro users panic over massive price hikes – experts reveal how to keep using weight loss jabs… for less

Mounjaro manufacturer Lilly sparked panic among slimmers yesterday after revealing it would more than double the price of the drug in the UK.

The US pharmaceutical giant announced the cost would soar from September 1, with the wholesale price of a month’s supply of the highest dose rising from £122 to £330. 

Lilly claimed it had initially launched Mounjaro in the UK at a price ‘significantly below the European average to prevent delays in NHS availability’ but that this must now change ‘to ensure fair global contributions to the cost of innovation’. 

The announcement, however, does not affect the price the NHS pays, as the service has negotiated a heavily discounted rate for those getting the drug on prescription.

But there are thought to be around 1.5 million people on weight loss drugs in the UK with more than half of them on Mounjaro—and estimates suggest nine in 10 pay for these drugs privately. 

Users flocked to social media warning denouncing the move, worried they were now left with no option but to come off the ‘life changing’ jab. 

‘I have no one to talk to about this and I’m freaking out,’ one wrote on Reddit. 

‘Call it dramatic but I just cannot afford this, and this med is my only lifeline right now. I’m absolutely devastated. I don’t know what to do.’

Lilly claimed it had initially launched Mounjaro in the UK at a price ‘significantly below the European average to prevent delays in NHS availability’ but that this must now change ‘to ensure fair global contributions to the cost of innovation’ 

Another said: ‘I’m totally freaking out about it! I’m only about to go onto my 2nd pen now. The black market is going to be even more rife than ever due to this, fuming.’ 

The main concern among slimmers is regaining weight after being forced to stop Mounjaro. 

Evidence suggests currently only around 2 to 10 per cent of people keep all their lost weight off if they stop taking the jabs, known collectively as GLP-1s. 

So is it possible to still access Mounjaro at a similar price? And crucially, what are options if you want to stay on the jabs but can’t afford to? 

With the help of a team of experts, we explain everything you need to know about how to keep using weight loss jabs, for less… 

I already pay for Mounjaro privately – can I now get it on the NHS? 

Not necessarily. Only those who hit the body mass index (BMI) threshold set by the NHS may be prescribed weight-loss jabs.

Patients must have a BMI of at least 40—severely obese—as well as four obesity-related conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea, heart disease, osteoarthritis or diabetes.

Next year, those with a BMI of over 35, along with four obesity-related conditions, will be offered the jabs. Then, in September 2026, those with a BMI of over 40 and just three related conditions will be able to access them on the NHS. 

Private clinics, however, can offer Mounjaro to patients with a BMI of over 30 or 27 if they also have at least one weight-related condition.

‘There are lots of patients paying privately who want to switch to NHS treatment,’ says Oxford GP Dr Helen Salisbury, ‘but that won’t happen overnight.’

If I qualify for Mounjaro on the NHS, what are my next steps?

Eligible patients need to make an appointment with their GP, which will likely be face-to-face in an effort to combat ‘potential misuse’.

The GP will assess medical records and, if necessary, contact other doctors who have recently treated the patient, to make sure they are a suitable candidate for treatment.

If the prescription is approved, then patients will initially need to have monthly face-to-face appointments with a ‘suitably trained healthcare professional’, such as a nurse and monitored for potential side effects. 

GPs need to regularly review the patient’s prescription, taking into account their BMI, comorbidities, side effects, and mental health, for at least the first year of treatment and possibly longer. 

I’m not eligible but can’t afford to stay on Mounjaro from September—what are my options? 

Thousands of Mounjaro users could face a situation by the end of the month where they cannot afford to continue taking Mounjaro.

But experts say it is possible to switch medication and begin a new weight loss jab. 

Thorrun Govind, a TV pharmacist and former chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, told the Daily Mail: ‘Patients can ask their provider to switch and a decision will then be taken together.’ 

Toby Nicol, CEO at private weight loss jab provider CheqUp, meanwhile said: ‘A huge number of people will be considering switching and it’s important that they know that this is absolutely possible.

‘Wegovy is now a much more affordable option and is also clinically proven as a highly effective drug.

‘We don’t want anyone to be priced out and think they have to take something which is unsafe.

‘Do not buy from the cowboys. If the price is to good to be true, it probably is.’

Experts, however, have warned against trying to ‘microdose’ remaining Mounjaro pens in an effort to prolong the drug and save money. 

The term, refers to counting clicks on pre–filled Mounjaro pens to deliver less than the prescribed dose—or even breaking them open.

‘People are risking serious side effects from overdosing, as well as the potential for life–threatening infection,’ said Professor Alex Miras, an endocrinologist at Ulster University. ‘We cannot endorse it.’

He added: ‘Not only is contamination a risk, but it also reduces the effectiveness of the medication.’

So which jab should I switch to?

Pharmacists have said Wegovy is the most likely option. The drug, which contains the ingredient semaglutide, is made by Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk. 

Kevin Joshua, the clinical lead at Juniper, an online pharmacy selling weight-loss jabs, said: ‘For many, the pragmatic move is to switch to Wegovy—proven outcomes, a cardiovascular risk‑reduction indication in people living with overweight or obesity, and more predictable private costs.’

Clinical trials have shown Mounjaro is the most effective of all the injections, with average weight loss of 20 per cent over 72 weeks.

By comparison, Wegovy achieved average weight loss of around 14 per cent.  

Experts suggest this is because Wegovy mimics one hormone released by the body after a meal, to flip one appetite switch in the brain. Mounjaro, meanwhile, flips two.

How can I make the switch safely? 

Given the two jabs contain different ingredients, how well the body tolerates them may differ. 

As with any medication, patients may need to adjust to the side effects of a new medicine.

Dr Suhail Hussain, a GP for private online clinic Doctify, said: ‘Mounjaro tends to be better tolerated in terms of gastrointestinal side effects than Wegovy, so patients may experience more nausea or vomiting.’

Other common side effects of beginning a new GLP-1 medication includes nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and headaches. 

Ms Govind told Daily Mail that one way patients may make the switch is by ‘taking your next semaglutide dose one week after your last Mounjaro injection, effectively replacing it without a break’. 

Thorrun Govind, a TV pharmacist and former chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, told the Daily Mail that one way patients may make the switch is by ‘taking your next semaglutide dose one week after your last Mounjaro injection, effectively replacing it without a break’

She added: ‘This avoids a “hunger rebound” that can happen if you leave a long gap.

‘There is no direct dose conversion between tirzepatide and semaglutide. So you might switch to a low dose semaglutide and then go up in dose.’

Should I come off Mounjaro completely first before starting a new medication? 

Experts have repeatedly warned against completely stopping taking weight loss jabs suddenly over fears of side effects such as body aches, as well as regaining the weight lost on the drug.

But according to pharmacists, patients must first completely come off Mounjaro before switching to a new jab, such as Wegovy.

This is because the GLP-1 jabs affect the same hormones and could ‘massively increase the risk of side effects’, Ms Govind told the Daily Mail. 

There is also not clear long term evidence yet on the long term issues this could cause, she added. 

‘For patients who are currently on Mounjaro, it may require a period of abstinence of several weeks before switching on an alternative,’ Dr Leyla Hannbeck also told the Daily Mail. 

‘Your pharmacist will be able to advise you on the switch.’

Ms Govind added: ‘Typically it’s seven days between the last tirzepatide and the first semaglutide dose. 

‘But it depends on the side effects that the patient has experienced and their tolerability to those side effects.’