Easier prescriptions for weight-loss drugs on way in France
GPs will be able to prescribe the drugs provided patients fit criteria for obesity
The drugs Mounjaro and Wegovy (pictured) help patients lose up to 15% of their body weight
Uwe Aranas / Shutterstock
The French government is planning to relax rules around the prescription of two major weight-loss drugs, to make obtaining them easier and fight against a growing obesity crisis.
It will soon be easier for non-specialist doctors including GPs to give prescriptions for Wegovy and Mounjaro, two authorised weight loss drugs that are becoming increasingly popular around the world.
Prescriptions for the drugs are set to spike in France in the coming months, as more patients want to try the drugs that help people lose up to 15% of their bodyweight on average via a once-weekly stomach injection.
France’s national medicines agency (ANSM) will launch an assessment into relaxing prescription rules – a standard procedure for all new drugs – which should take around a month according to public service broadcaster .
French Health Minister Yannick Neuder announced the plans during a visit to the factory of pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk – producer of Wegovy – in Chartres on Monday (May 26), which has recently seen a €2 billion injection from the company as demand for the drug rises exponentially.
Easier to obtain prescription
There are currently 23,000 people in France taking the drug, but up to 10 million people in France are classified as obese under criteria from the European Medicines Authority (EMA) and therefore potentially eligible.
Currently, the drugs can only be prescribed in France by a specialist in endocrinology-diabetology-nutrition, or a doctor that has some form of expertise in nutrition.
GPs and other doctors cannot prescribe the drug in France, although it is easier to obtain such prescriptions in several other EU countries, with up to 750,000 people across the continent taking the medication.
It means that in France, wait times for an appointment with a specialist take up to one year.
The changes mean GPs will be able to prescribe the medication in France following an appointment with an eligible patient.
However, the requirements to prescribe the drug – a patient must have a body mass index (BMI) of over 35, and have failed to lose weight using other methods such as dieting – are set to remain the same.
In addition, the state will not reimburse the treatment, which costs up to €300 per month.
This may change at a later date, but as of now no information indicates that the government is looking at changing reimbursement rules.
In December 2024, the Haute Autorité Santé backed calls to make the weight-loss drugs partially reimbursable, citing an overall saving for the state on medical costs.
