3 Feb 2026

Call for Pharmac to fund weight loss medication for teens

From Checkpoint, 4:49 pm on 3 February 2026

A pediatric specialist is urging Aotearoa's drug agency to fund weight loss drugs for teenagers. A Pharmac advisory panel has provisionally recommended funding Wegovy for chronic weight management in people with high BMI's and associated conditions. Professor of paediatric endocrinology at the Liggins Institute, Wayne Cutfield spoke to Lisa Owen.