Plans to roll out weight loss drug Wegovy through the NHS have fallen short of expectations after the treatment’s approval late last year.
Just 800 patients had received prescriptions of the drug by April, according to Sky News, against Department of Health estimates that 13,500 people would be on Wegovy by then.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)’s Wegovy was set to be rolled out across specialist weight loss clinics from December under guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Guidance said those with a body mass index above 35 and a related condition could be offered the treatment, which mimics hormones to suppress appetites.
However, Sky reported just 14 of 42 Integrated Care Boards, which commission local NHS services, had rolled out the drug through specialist clinics in hospitals by April.
Extra rules restricting access were also said to have been imposed, often only leaving the drug available to those in life-threatening situations.
Wegovy prescriptions start at roughly £160 per patient in the UK, with sales of the drug globally hitting 11.66 billion Danish krone (£1.3 billion) over the second quarter.
Though this marked an increase of 53%, the figure missed expectations and prompted Danish drug firm Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) to trim its full-year expectations.
“While specialist weight management services... are commissioned based on local priorities, the NHS provides a wide range of support which is helping hundreds of thousands of people,” a spokesperson for the service said.
“We are committed to working with the government, industry and experts to ensure that new treatments can be rolled out safely, effectively and affordably.”
Shares in Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) were down 0.6% on Monday.