‘Why you might be given the ‘second-best’ weight-loss drug”, ran the i’s coverage of the most recent research findings: Mounjaro is officially more effective than Wegovy. And there are plenty of perfectly sensible reasons. Wegovy, which produces an average weight loss of 14%, might suit you fine. It’s the only drug approved for reducing the risk of a major cardiovascular event because it’s been on the market for longer. Mounjaro, reducing weight by 20%, might end up on top in the long run. The media often takes a scandalised tone about pharmacological innovation: whether it’s the NHS trying to palm you off with second best, or big pharma selling snake oil, someone is always out to get you. “This seems OK; let’s see how it goes” is a peculiarly difficult editorial line to take.
I was part of a panel discussion last week at “Ozempic Nation”, part of the British Library’s Food Season. Ozempic is the same drug as Wegovy, just with a lower concentration of the active ingredient, semaglutide, and is used to treat type 2 diabetes. The discussion felt a little paradoxical to include in a “food season”, since Ozempic is the opposite of food, the anti-food, the drug that can make you forget what you ever liked about food. And yet, the debate – which was essentially “Is this a wonder drug or a sticking plaster?” – cut to the heart of what food means for politics, for society and, I guess if you squint at it, for civilisation.
