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The manufacturer of a weight loss pill which can also be used to treat type 2 diabetes has insisted there will be enough stock to fulfil all orders placed by community pharmacies in the UK that have “an active agreement” with the company and its distributors.

Eli Lilly told Independent Community Pharmacist it is “confident” there will be no supply issues with Orforglipron, known as Foundayo, which launched on private prescription in pharmacies yesterday.

Shortages of certain medicines, including painkillers, epilepsy drugs and HRT, have worsened in recent months and the number of serious shortage protocols, which cover NHS and private prescriptions, have increased for some drugs.

In June, the National Pharmacy Association warned shortages were “some of the most severe GPs and pharmacists have ever seen” and posed a “serious risk to patient safety”.

Foundayo is not yet available on the NHS but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is expected to make a decision on November 18. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised the drug on August 10.

“Our goal is to make our medicines available to as many eligible people as possible,” Eli Lilly told ICP. “It is currently being assessed for use on the NHS and we expect a decision in the next few months.

“Pharmacies with an active agreement with Lilly or our distributors will have access to supplies of Foundayo and be able to fill prescriptions this week in line with that arrangement. We are confident that supplies of Foundayo are sufficient to meet clinical need.”

Meanwhile, Eli Lilly has filed lawsuits in the US against entities it alleged are selling illegal retatrutide products, including compounding pharmacies, medical spas and online sellers.

Retatrutide is an experimental obesity drug which is undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials and has not been approved for human use by any regulator in the world.

The six companies targeted by the lawsuits are Aesthetic Envy Cosmetic Centers, Astra, Legendary Peptides, Striker Pharmacy, Texas Peptides Inc and Lone Star Peptide Co.

In a statement on August 12, Eli Lilly said it had “escalated its continued fight to protect patients from the dangerous black market for retatrutide” and referred over 200 individuals and entities to the Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Justice, state attorneys general, law enforcement and professional licensing boards.