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21 August 2025
The NHS Business Services Authority's annual 'Prescribing for Diabetes - England 2015/16 to 2024/25' report reveals that diabetes treatments now account for 15% of all NHS prescription spending, up from 10% in 2015/16 when costs were £960 million.
Anti-diabetic drugs costs have risen by 18% in the last year. A significant factor in this year's cost increase is Tirzepatide, branded as Mounjaro, which has emerged as a new driver of spending growth alongside established treatments like Dapagliflozin (Forxiga). From 2023/24 to 2024/25, the cost of Tirzepatide increased 340-fold to £120 million and Dapagliflozin costs increased 42% to £333 million.
Anti-diabetic drugs were the most prescribed treatment for diabetes, making up 59% of prescribed items and 75% of the total cost of diabetes treatments at a cost of £1.1 billion.
The rising costs coincide with record patient numbers, as 3.9 million people now receive diabetes treatment in England - a 7% increase from 3.6 million in 2023/24. Prescription items reached 77 million in 2024/25, up 9% from the previous year and 56% higher than the 50 million items prescribed in 2015/16.
Key findings also show that:
- the overall cost of prescribed items for treating diabetes has increased by 15% from £1.67 billion to £1.92 billion.
- health inequalities persist. Areas with higher deprivation levels had 349,000 more diabetes patients than the least deprived areas.
- men aged 60 to 64 represent the largest patient group, with 284,000 people accounting for 7% of all identified cases.
- patient numbers have grown by an average of 6% annually over the past three years.
- Tirzepatide, branded as Mounjaro, was prescribed to 188,065 identified patients in 2024/25 compared to 2,242 in 2023/24.
To read the full statistics publication, go to: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/prescribing-diabetes-england/prescribing-diabetes-england-201516-202425.
Notes to editors
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) manages prescription services across England. Our 'Prescribing for Diabetes 2015/16 to 2024/25' report describes the prescribing of medicines and appliances used for the treatment of diabetes in England that are dispensed in the community. This does not include data on medicines prescribed and dispensed in secondary care, prisons, or issued by a private prescriber as this data is not held by us.
We do not capture the reason why a patient is prescribed a drug.
Classifications: These statistics use the BNF therapeutic classifications defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) using the classification system prior to BNF edition 70. These medicines are classified by their primary therapeutic indication. However, it is possible that they can be prescribed for other reasons outside of this primary therapeutic indication.
Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) was approved by NICE for Type 2 diabetes treatment and has shown significant efficacy in both blood sugar control and weight loss. The drug belongs to a new class of medications that have transformed diabetes and obesity treatment options.
Diabetes UK estimates that more than 5.8 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, with Type 2 diabetes accounting for around 90% of cases. Early diagnosis and effective treatment can help prevent serious complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and sight loss.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is an arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care and provides a range of critical central services to NHS organisations, NHS contractors, patients and the public. Its purpose is to deliver business service excellence to the NHS to help people live longer, healthier lives, and its vision is to be the provider of national, at scale business services for the health and social care system. For more information about the NHSBSA, visit: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk.
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