Rishi Sunak pledges to deploy Ozempic to help tackle Briton’s health woes after groundbreaking research shows weight loss injections can reduce risk of heart attack and stroke

Rishi Sunak yesterday pledged to roll out weight loss programs to help tackle the country’s health problems.

Its announcement follows landmark research showing that semaglutide can reduce the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke.

The breakthrough, presented this week at the European Obesity Congress in Venice, has been hailed as the most significant development in heart disease since statins in the 1990s.

A No 10 spokesperson said the Prime Minister welcomed the findings of the University College London research. He added: “This new study is welcome because we know the potential for obesity drugs to help more people lose weight but, as this study suggests, also reduce wider health problems.

“That’s why we are committed to safely introducing new approved weight loss medicines into the NHS, as well as improving access to existing medicines for those who meet the eligibility criteria.”

Experts said it could be given to patients in the same way that statins or blood pressure pills are currently given to millions of people. In a major speech earlier this week, Mr Sunak acknowledged the huge role the drug – which is approved under the names Ozempic and Wegovy – could have.

He said: “You can see the opportunity in healthcare because it allows people to live longer and healthier lives. In Denmark, NovoNordisk created the drug Ozempic which not only helps fight chronic diseases globally, but also contributed to the growth of the Danish economy last year.

The research, which looked at more than 17,000 overweight and obese patients, found that taking a vaccine once a week reduced the chances of dying or suffering new attacks by a fifth.

Speaking at the conference, lead researcher Professor John Deanfield said semaglutide “targets the underlying biology of chronic disease”, proving it can be used for other conditions.

Experts said it could be given to patients in the same way that statins or blood pressure pills are currently given to millions of people. In a major speech earlier this week, Mr Sunak acknowledged the huge role the drug – which is approved under the names Ozempic and Wegovy – could have.

He said: “You can see the opportunity in healthcare because it allows people to live longer and healthier lives.

In Denmark, NovoNordisk created the drug Ozempic which not only helps fight chronic diseases globally, but also contributed to the growth of the Danish economy last year.

Semaglutide is the first in a new generation of drugs that suppress appetite by mimicking the hormone GLP-1. It was initially used for diabetes under the brand name Ozempic before being repurposed as the weight loss drug Wegovy.

Experts believe the benefits of this drug extend beyond weight loss, and trials are underway for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and kidney disease.