Health

Eli Lilly's Weight-Loss Pill Gets First European Nod in UK

Is Foundayo a breakthrough making weight loss accessible to millions or a reckless drug masking a brutal hidden cost?

Published AUG 11

Eli Lilly's Weight-Loss Pill Gets First European Nod in UK

Story

Above: The new Foundayo weight-loss oral pill. Image credit: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved Foundayo, made by Eli Lilly, on Monday, making Britain the first country in Europe to authorize the once-daily oral GLP-1 pill for weight management and type 2 diabetes.
GOV.UK
BBC News
Foundayo is approved for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or those with a BMI of 27 to 30 and at least one weight-related condition. Unlike the Wegovy pill, it can be taken at any time of day with no food or water restrictions.
GB News
Independent
Clinical trials found that Foundayo helped patients lose around 12.4% of their body weight after 16 months. A separate trial found that 376 patients who switched from weight-loss injections to the pill retained 75% of their lost weight.
The Telegraph
Daily Mail
Foundayo is expected to cost around £3 per pill in the U.K., roughly half the price of the Mounjaro injection, which is listed at £330 per month. In the U.S., where the pill was approved in April, a monthly prescription costs $149 to $349 depending on the dosage.
The Telegraph
Reuters
Foundayo is currently available only via private prescription and is not accessible through the NHS. NHS availability will follow an evaluation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, in line with standard procedures for newly authorized treatments.
GB News
BBC News
Foundayo's dosing begins at 0.8 mg and escalates through five levels to a maximum of 17.2 mg, and patients spend a minimum of one month at each level. The most common side effects include nausea, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, indigestion and abdominal pain.
GOV.UK
Independent

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Foundayo is a massive breakthrough — a once-daily pill with no food restrictions that's far cheaper to manufacture than injectable alternatives, making meaningful weight loss and improved blood glucose control accessible to far more people living with obesity. More treatment options mean more people get the help they actually need.

Science Media Centre

Narrative B

Weight-loss pills are being handed out like candy while hiding a brutal cost — up to a third of the weight lost is muscle, equivalent to 20 years of aging in just over a year. When people stop, two-thirds of the fat returns while the muscle doesn't. Calling this health care for people nowhere near a medical crisis is reckless.

Sama Hoole on X