Mounjaro approved - register your interest now
Mounjaro, the most efficacious weight loss medication licenced anywhere in the world will be available in the UK within the next few weeks, after the medicines regulator announced today that it had given full approval for its KwikPen delivery system.
The most effective weight loss drug available
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today announced that it had approved Mounjaro for use in the UK with its KwikPen delivery system. This should open the path for the manufacturer, Eli Lilly, to launch the weight loss medication in the UK within the next few weeks.
Mounjaro, from Lilly, is by far the most efficacious weight loss medication to be licenced anywhere in the world. According to the SURMOUNT 3 clinical trials, it can result in weight reduction of up to 25% in about 18 months surpassing the weight loss achieved with Wegovy (about 15%). It is hard to argue with those academics who have described it as the “King Kong” of weight loss drugs.
How does Mounjaro work?
Mounjaro is the commercial name for the groundbreaking medication Tirzepatide and works in a similar way to Wegovy, also known as semaglutide but with some important differences.
Wegovy and Mounjaro are both weight loss medications, but they differ in their active ingredients and mechanisms of action. Semaglutide, developed by Novo Nordisk, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) that mimics the action of a hormone called GLP-1. It has demonstrated substantial weight loss in clinical trials, with many patients achieving over 15-20% reduction in body weight.
Mounjaro is a dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and GLP-1 RA. This dual mechanism of action leads to even greater weight loss compared to semaglutide. Clinical trials have shown that Mounjaro can result in weight reduction of up to 25%, surpassing the weight loss achieved with semaglutide.
The chart below plots weight loss the results of the main clinical trials and shows the greater effectiveness of Mounjaro when compared with Wegovy:
Who can take Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is authorised for adult patients who fall into two categories:
1. Those with a BMI of 30kg/m² or more.
2. Individuals with a BMI between 27-30kg/m² (overweight) who also have weight-related health issues such as prediabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart problems.
Dosage and administration of Mounjaro
Mounjaro is available as a pre-filled injection pen with varying doses of tirzepatide (2.5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 12.5mg, and 15mg), which is administered under the skin in the stomach area, thigh, or upper arm.
The treatment typically starts with a 2.5mg dose once a week for four weeks and can be increased to 5mg once a week. If deemed necessary by your CheqUp doctor, the dose may be further increased in at least 4-week intervals, up to the maximum dose of 15mg once weekly.
Avoid pregnancy
For obese or overweight female patients using oral contraceptives, it’s advised to consider using a barrier method of contraception (e.g., a condom) or switching to a non-oral contraceptive method for 4 weeks after starting Mounjaro and for 4 weeks after each dose increase, as Mounjaro may affect the efficacy of oral contraceptives in these individuals.
Register your interest in Mounjaro now
Now that the MHRA has approved the KwikPen delivery device, the launch of Mounjaro should come fairly soon - although we don’t have a precise launch date yet.
Please register your interest in Mounjaro by sending an email to help@chequp.com and we’ll let you know as soon as there is any news.
CheqUp will transition our clients from their existing medication over to Mounjaro, if our doctors believed it to be the medication for you.
So, no change for now. Continue with your current medication or start taking Wegovy or Rybelsus in the knowledge that you can transition as soon as Mounjaro is available.
Take Mounjaro as part of a full weight management service
This ground-breaking medicine is designed to be used in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity of the kind offered by CheqUp. It is not recommended to take this class of drug without professional support given the side-effects, problems through the dose increase stage, and the difficulties which many people find in using the injection pens.
Please register your interest in Mounjaro by sending an email to help@chequp.com and we’ll let you know as soon as there is any news.
CheqUp will transition our clients from their existing medication over to Mounjaro, if our doctors believed it to be the medication for you.
So, no change for now. Continue with your current medication or start taking Wegovy or Rybelsus in the knowledge that you can transition as soon as Mounjaro is available.
Published: 26 January 2024