Dr Adam Staten, a GP and medical director for One Day Tests, says the UK rollout of GLP1 pills has been a 'damp squib', with just 6 per cent of jab users at his clinics opting to switch to tablets.
Low uptake despite expectations
Many expected the rollout of tablet Ozempic to 'change the landscape of weight management', but Dr Staten said the team anticipated a vast shift from jabs to pills and many new users accessing GLP1s for the first time via tablets. However, at private diagnostics clinic hub One Day Tests, only 6 per cent made the switch, and very few accessed them for the first time.
Reasons for reluctance
Dr Staten, based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, believes the price is similar to jabs with slightly lower effectiveness, and taking tablets daily is less appealing. He said: 'Everyone thought the tablets would change the whole landscape of weight management, but so far, it hasn't had a big impact.' People are familiar with once-weekly injections, which are convenient and relatively painless, whereas tablets must be taken on an empty stomach first thing with no food or drink for half an hour.
He added: 'The conversations pharmacists seem to be having is that people are put off by the side effects of the pills, a bigger rate of gastrointestinal problems like nausea and diarrhoea.' Some people, particularly men, say they forget a daily pill and prefer a weekly injection as less effort.
Surprising preference for injections
Dr Staten said: 'Overall, I've been surprised how willing people are to inject. It feels quite invasive compared to taking a pill, which everyone has done at some point in their lives. On the tablets, something seems to be putting people off.' He noted that most discussions about switching ended with patients choosing to stay on or start injections.
The pills were approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in June and rolled out to supermarkets and pharmacies the following month. Dr Staten concluded: 'We've not been overwhelmed by people wanting the tablets and I can see why they aren't flying off the shelves. In six months' time it might be different, but given how much hype there was around the tablets, it's been a bit of a damp squib.'
