Lilly and UK government launch £85m programme to transform obesity care
Eli Lilly and Company and the UK Government Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) have announced a programme to develop innovative models of care for obesity.
The programme aims to enhance the support available to individuals living with obesity and align with the Government's vision of creating an ‘NHS fit for the future’.
The programme will launch a competition for NHS Organisations to submit innovative models of obesity care. The competition is UK-wide, with entries encouraged from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Successful submissions will be chosen to receive funding to pilot and evaluate the care model, aiming to build an evidence base for efficient obesity care in the UK. The competition will be delivered together with Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.
Lilly has worked in partnership with DSIT and Innovate UK on the design and guidelines for the competition, aiming for submissions to consider elements such as alignment with clinical standards, resource efficiency, accessibility, and scalability. DSIT is providing up to £50 million and Lilly will contribute up to £35 million of grant funding. This includes at least £10 million of which is earmarked to support proposals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This grant funding is not intended to, and should not, influence any person or organisation to recommend, prescribe, purchase, supply, sell or administer any specific medicines, including Lilly’s medicines.
Obesity is estimated to cost the UK economy approximately £74 billion annually, with £11 billion of that total being direct costs to the NHS.
Professor Rachel Batterham, Senior Vice President for International Medical Affairs at Lilly said:
“The launch of this programme marks an important milestone in advancing new models of care for obesity. At Lilly, we are deeply committed to addressing the complex health challenge of obesity, and we are pleased to collaborate with the UK Government and NHS partners. Together, we aim to build an evidence base that could transform health outcomes for people living with obesity.”
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:
“New ways of accessing support to tackle obesity, such as through pharmacies or with help from digital tools, could be transformational for people’s quality of life, and for society – allowing individuals to more easily manage their weight and freeing them from ill-health that holds them back in daily life – while reducing the strain on our NHS.
“This programme also underlines life sciences’ critical value to our Plan for Change and our modern Industrial Strategy. By working hand-in-hand with one of the world’s largest life sciences companies we are driving investment into the UK and tackling one of the greatest health challenges of our era.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:
“Obesity is now one of the leading causes of ill health, costing the NHS billions. Yet, we now have the science, technology and knowledge to help tackle the obesity epidemic, if we seize this opportunity.
As we shift our focus from treatment to prevention with our 10 Year Health Plan we are also determined to bring revolutionary modern care to everyone that needs it, not just those who can afford to pay.
This collaboration will help patients living with obesity in a matter of months – through testing better access to weight loss services and treatments.
In the long-term it will inform how we can better tackle one of the biggest modern day health challenges and, through our Plan for Change, create an NHS that is fit for the future.”