Superdrug has confirmed the launch of its Wegovy pill service, with the retailer calling it the “high street’s cheapest oral weight loss service”.
It will be made available online through the Superdrug Online Doctor service from July 6, which was launched ahead of its “in-store services” for the Wegovy pill.
The pill will be offered from £79 per month “for new patients”, or £99 at the normal price, in 1.5mg doses. Superdrug currently sells the Wegovy injection at £99 for a 0.25 mg dose, or £79 at the “new patient” price.
A 4mg in pill version is also available, with 9mg and 25mg doses to be made available by the retailer “soon”.
Read more: ‘Significant’: MHRA approves Wegovy pill for use in the UK
Purchases can be combined with Superdrug’s loyalty card scheme, allowing customers to “earn 5x points on their purchases worth up to £15”.
Patients will also be “required to complete a full clinical assessment with a prescriber”, but customers will be able to also “speak to their local Superdrug pharmacy team for more information”.
The service will be available in “more than 160 pharmacies, and over 85 nurse services”.
Quick and flexible
Superdrug Online Doctor GP Dr Clair Grainger said with prescribing “now underway, people can now complete their consultation and access treatment if clinically appropriate, whether that’s online, in pharmacy, or in clinic”.
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“Obesity is a complex medical issue, and any treatment will only be prescribed following a thorough clinical assessment against eligibility criteria,” she added.
Counterfeit pills
Meanwhile, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has raised safety concerns about the sale of counterfeit Wegovy pills.
After a survey of around 6,000 independent pharmacies, the NPA said 97% of pharmacies were “concerned that the new form of treatment would result in an increase of fake or unlicensed weight loss pills”.
The NPA urged patients to “only access the new treatment through regulated pharmacies after a thorough two-way consultation”.
Read more: Lilly GLP-1 pill can keep weight off after stopping jabs, study finds
It also warned that purchasing unregulated medicines could mean they have been “faked, swapped for an alternative medicine or not meet the strict regulatory standards that exist in the UK”.
The body also urged the government to “use pharmacies to speed up the NHS roll out and provide weight management treatment to a broader range of eligible patients”.
It comes after C+D exclusively revealed last month that Superdrug was developing a Wegovy pill service, ahead of UK approval which was also announced later in June.
Read more: Novo Nordisk invests €432m in Ireland for Wegovy pill production
The retailer created an online register for customers to learn more about the Wegovy pill service in anticipation of its launch.
And it follows an Asda Online Doctor survey from June, which found that 78% of patients already using weight loss medications were “likely” to switch to the pills if the “effectiveness” was similar.
It also discovered that of the 1,800 participants, 29% of those using weight loss jabs said they “would pay a premium to avoid needles”.
