Weight loss jabs linked to potentially fatal side effects, says new report
Hundreds of people have reported problems with their pancreas linked to taking weight loss and diabetes jabs, prompting health officials to launch a new study into side effects.
Some cases of pancreatitis reported to be linked to GLP-1 medicines (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) have been fatal.
Data from the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), shows that since the drugs were licensed there have been hundreds of cases of acute and chronic pancreatitis among people taking GLP-1 medicines.
The new weight management medication 'Tirzepatide' (brand name Mounjaro®) is shortly being made available to NHS patients to support weight loss. Access is prioritised for those with the greatest clinical need. You can find out more at: https://t.co/Ahd6YqXIif pic.twitter.com/WLwEfZM2qR
— NHS Cheshire and Merseyside (@NHSCandM) June 24, 2025
This includes:
181 reported cases of acute and chronic pancreatitis linked to tirzepatide – the active ingredient for Mounjaro. Five people died.
116 reported reactions of this kind linked to liraglutide, one of which was fatal.
113 cases of acute and chronic pancreatitis linked to semaglutide – the active ingredient for Ozempic and Wegovy. One person died.
101 reported reactions of this kind linked to exenatide, three people died.
52 reported reactions of this sort linked to dulaglutide and 11 reported reactions lixisenatide. No fatalities were linked to either drug.
These cases are not confirmed as being caused by the medicines, but the person who reported them suspected they may be.
Review your ICB's local policy about treating patients with tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for weight management in a primary care setting and visit: https://t.co/03msJjjTU9 pic.twitter.com/YcfHOz32fx
— We are Primary Care (@PrimaryCareNHS) June 27, 2025
Nonetheless, Yellow Card Biobank project, launched by the MHRA and Genomics England, will see researchers examine whether cases of pancreatitis linked to GLP-1 drugs may be influenced by peoples genetic makeup.
The MHRA is calling for people who are taking GLP-1 medicine who have been admitted to hospital due to acute pancreatitis to submit a report to its Yellow Card scheme.
When a Yellow Card report is received, the MHRA will contact patients to ask if they would be willing to take part in the study.
Patients will be asked to submit more information and a saliva sample which will be assessed to explore whether some people are at a higher risk of acute pancreatitis when taking these medicines due to their genes.
GLP-1 agonists can lower blood sugar levels in people living with type 2 diabetes and can also be prescribed to support some people with weight loss.
🧵Weight loss jab roll out 'positive for patients' but with implications for general practice that must be considered. Our Chair Kamila Hawthorne has featured widely in the national press and broadcast media responding to the phased roll-out of Mounjaro prescriptions by NHS… pic.twitter.com/fb2KdaXIou
— Royal College of General Practitioners (@rcgp) June 23, 2025
Chronic stress and poor sleep are major weight loss blockers. Stress increases cortisol, a hormone linked to fat retention, especially around the abdomen. Sleep deprivation increases ghrelin (hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (fullness hormone), making you more likely to overeat and less likely to move.
You're also more impulsive and less motivated when sleep-deprived, making it harder to stick to your diet and exercise routine. As a solution, prioritise stress management techniques (like mindfulness or journaling), and aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
Medical issues such as PCOS, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or insulin resistance can all interfere with weight loss. Similarly, certain medications (like antidepressants or steroids) may cause weight gain or inhibit fat loss.
If weight loss stalls despite doing everything right, consult your GP to rule out or address any underlying conditions. If you have a known medical condition, it's important to stay up to date with your routine reviews and inform your GP or specialist about any weight loss treatments you're using. Regular follow-up helps ensure your treatment plan remains safe and effective.
More Mounjaro news...
Who is eligible for Mounjaro on the NHS?
Urgent holiday warning for Mounjaro users issued
Mounjaro warning as summer temperatures rise
Recent estimates suggest that about 1.5 million people in the UK are taking weight loss jabs.
Health officials have suggested that they can help to turn the tide on obesity, but have stressed they are not a silver bullet and do come with side effects.
Most side effects linked to the jabs are gastrointestinal including nausea, constipation and diarrhoea.
And the medical regulator recently warned that Mounjaro may make the oral contraceptive pill less effective in some patients.
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA's chief safety officer, said: 'Evidence shows that almost a third of side effects to medicines could be prevented with the introduction of genetic testing, it is predicted that adverse drug reactions could cost the NHS more than £2.2 billion a year in hospital stays alone.
'Information from the Yellow Card Biobank will help us to better predict those most at risk of adverse reactions – enabling patients across the UK to receive the safest medicine for them, based on their genetic makeup.
'To help us help you, we're asking anyone who has been hospitalised with acute pancreatitis while taking a GLP-1 medicine to report this to us via our Yellow Card scheme.
'Even if you don't meet the criteria for this phase of the Biobank study, information about your reaction to a medication is always extremely valuable in helping to improve patient safety.'
Professor Matt Brown, chief scientific officer of Genomics England, said: 'GLP-1 medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy have been making headlines, but like all medicines there can be a risk of serious side effects.
'We believe there is real potential to minimise these with many adverse reactions having a genetic cause.
'This next step in our partnership with the MHRA will generate data and evidence for safer and more effective treatment through more personalised approaches to prescription, supporting a shift towards an increasingly prevention-focused healthcare system.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Plans unveiled for NHS funding to be linked to patient feedback
NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that "don't listen" penalised with less money. As part of the "10 Year Health Plan" to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received - and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not. It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients "not being listened to", the government said. This will create a "powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients' experience", it added. Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff. NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new 'Year of Care Payments' initiative and the government's wider plan for change. Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial. He told the newspaper: "Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix." He said that NHS leaders would be keen to "understand more about the proposal", because elements were "concerning". Read more from Sky News Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change." In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England will be scrapped. These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian's Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB). Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear "built to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience". "We've made it really hard, and we've probably all been on the end of it," he told the Daily Telegraph. "The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they're busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
BioMarin's ROCTAVIAN Shows Sustained Efficacy, Safety Over 5 Years for Severe Hemophilia A
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) is one of the most undervalued US stocks according to analysts. On June 24, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. presented new 5-year data from its Phase 3 GENEr8-1 trial at the 33rd Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis/ISTH in Washington, D.C., which took place from June 21 to 25. The data reinforced the long-term efficacy and safety of ROCTAVIAN (valoctocogene roxaparvovec-rvox) as a gene therapy for severe hemophilia A. The GENEr8-1 trial is the longest and largest hemophilia gene therapy study to date, and demonstrated sustained Factor VIII (FVIII) expression and durable bleed control 5 years after a single treatment with ROCTAVIAN. A pharmaceutical plant manufacturing a proprietary synthetic oral form of a C-type natriuretic peptide. FVIII activity remained consistent with previously reported results. Importantly, no new safety signals were observed over the 5-year study period. Across all 134 participants who received ROCTAVIAN in the study, there were no cases of FVIII inhibitors or thromboembolic events, and no treatment-related malignancies were observed. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes therapies for life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions internationally. While we acknowledge the potential of BMRN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Report forecasts tech-driven vision for NHS could add £40bn to annual UK GDP
With profound change in sight for the UK's National Health Service (NHS), a new report indicates that a technology-driven vision for the national health system could add £40bn ($54.8bn) to the nation's annual GDP. Co-authored by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Siemens Healthineers, and Imperial College London, the report follows the UK Spending Review on 11 June, in which Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced that the NHS will receive a £29bn ($39.1bn) funding boost, reflecting a 3% annual rise on current levels over the next three years to reach £226bn by 2029. Reeves also revealed that the funding would increase the NHS's technology budget by almost 50%, with £10bn ($13.5bn) of the total funding earmarked to bring the 'analogue health system into the digital age'. Commissioned by the NHS as input to its 10-Year Plan, which is anticipated to be released in early July, the report foresees that innovation in diagnosis has the potential to impact population outcomes through risk stratification and intervention to 'prevent disease and alleviate burden on the broader healthcare system'. According to the research, by addressing health inequalities through predictive, personalised and preventative care, two to three million healthy life years could be added to the five most economically deprived groups among the UK population each year, thereby boosting the UK's GDP by around £40bn each year. Achieving this aim would primarily be driven by implementing technologies such as AI for the early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer, the report stated. Also, the report envisions the deployment of AI and technologies including remote patient monitoring tools, to take preventative action on conditions such as high blood pressure and hypertension that are well-established predicates of life-threatening conditions such as coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, and cancer. In turn, the report forecasts that the impact of technologies' deployment in the NHS would deliver £12bn-£18bn ($16.4-$24.7bn) in productivity gains for NHS healthcare systems annually. By integrating diagnostic data into NHS R&D, the report also forecasts that drug development timelines could be reduced, resulting in new drugs being brought to patients up to twice as fast, with operational cost savings and commercial data revenue worth £10bn-£15bn ($13.7bn- $20.5bn) to the NHS annually. Ben Horner, managing director and partner at BCG and co-author of the report, said: 'As the UK Government prepares to set out its 10-Year Health Plan, this research highlights the scale of the opportunity ahead. 'By embracing technology and data-driven innovation, the NHS could add over £40bn to UK GDP annually. This would improve patient outcomes, easing pressure on frontline services and boosting productivity across the system. The foundations are already in place; now is the moment to shift from pilots to full-scale implementation.' "Report forecasts tech-driven vision for NHS could add £40bn to annual UK GDP" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
