Eli Lilly (LLY) has partnered with the government of the United Kingdom to see if its blockbuster weight loss drug could help get some people back to work.
The pharma giant announced Sunday that it is investing £279 million ($365 million) in the country's life sciences industry to help "tackle significant health challenges."
The partnership aims to work with the industry to trial innovative ways to treat obesity.
"We welcome this opportunity to partner with the UK government on tackling and preventing disease, and accelerating innovation to advance care delivery models," said Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks in a press release.
As part of the partnership, Eli Lilly will work with the government to conduct a five-year, real-world study to look at the effectiveness of the company's tirzepatide, the drug behind Zepbound and Mounjaro, for weight loss, diabetes prevention, and other health complications.
Additionally, the study will collect data on healthcare resource utilization, quality of life, and changes in participants' employment status and sick days from work.
"This collaboration will add to the evidence base on the real world impact of obesity treatments on the health of people with obesity, and will explore a broad range of outcomes including health-related quality of life and impact on individuals' employment status," said Rachel Batterham, senior vice President for international medical affairs at Lilly, in a statement.
The University of Manchester is set to coordinate the study which will have up to 3,000 participants.
The U.K. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting made the case in an article for The Telegraph that obesity is negatively affecting the country's economy.
"Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion a year - even more than smoking," Streeting wrote. "And it's holding back our economy. Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work altogether."