Saxenda: HSE gets 26,000 funding applications for just one weight-loss drug

National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics clinical director Michael Barry said some 6,631 patients are currently approved for long-term use of weight-loss drug Saxenda. Picture: Novo Nordisk

Around 26,000 people have applied for HSE funding to take just one type of weight loss drug since 2023, with “enormous sums” now needed for such medications.

National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) clinical director Michael Barry said the national drugs budget is now mainly spent on obesity, cancer, rare diseases, and diabetes.

In the case of weight-loss jab Saxenda, patients must apply individually for reimbursement. It is one of 46 drugs under a managed protocol, meaning there are restrictions on who can use it.

Referring just to Saxenda, Professor Barry said: “At the start of this year, we had reviewed 24,000 applications, and that’s now 26,000. You can imagine we go through each individual application, so it’s very time-consuming.”

The approval rate is now about 50%, with 75% of applications from female patients, while the average age is 50, he said. Patients start on a low dose and are assessed after 12 weeks.

“If you lost 5% or more body weight, then you are a responder, and we will pay for the second phase,” Prof Barry said.

“If we did not have something like this in place, the budget impact would be far, far higher.”

6,631 approved for Saxenda

Some 6,631 patients are currently approved for long-term use of Saxenda, he told the Axis Patient Access in Ireland conference today, Thursday.

New weight-loss drug Mounjaro is being assessed for funding.

He said: “Should it be reimbursed, there is no doubt it will have to be managed.” Even then, “we are dealing with enormous sums of money,” Mr Barry said.

Many EU countries do not reimburse patients for any weight-loss drugs, including Germany, he added.

He also said the HSE uses far more generic non-brand medicines than previously. He said: 

Cumulative savings are in excess of €100m a year and that’s important.

“It’s not for the sake of making these savings, but it’s investing them back into new medicines.”

This is against a backdrop of a rapidly-growing medicines budget.

“We’re talking about a drugs budget now in excess of €4bn,” he said.

He shared data showing 43 drugs were considered for funding last year, covering 48 reasons for use. The initial gross cost would have been around €990m over five years, but negotiations and managing access reduced this by about half.

• Niamh Griffin, Health Correspondent