The recommendation is subject to Special Authority criteria, which will limit who can prescribe it.

The recommendation has been announced after the advisory group met in December, with a full record of the meeting expected to be available by March.

A ‘goldrush’ of weight loss drugs

Boyd Swinburn, an Auckland University professor of global health and nutrition, told Morning Report, the move towards funding came when there was a “gold rush” on kinds of drugs that were very effective at reducing obesity.

“So the pressure is on to really deliver them,” he said, “the problem at the moment is the expense.”

Wegovy helped reduce the incidence of diseases including type-two diabetes and sleep apnea, Swinburn said.

The struggle for Pharmac would be finding a mechanism to make it affordable within its fixed budget, he said.

“Type two diabetes is a very chronic, expensive disease so Pharmac would be interested in drugs that would reduce that by bringing it under control or even reversing it.”

Previously, Pharmac had received two applications to fund Wegovy.

The first was in September, for people with an established cardiovascular disease, such as someone who has had a heart attack or stroke, and a BMI of 27 or higher. The second was in October, for chronic weight management in people with a BMI of 30 or higher, with at least one weight-related comorbidity.

New Zealand has the third-highest adult obesity rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.