The government is trying to ban a miracle weight-loss drug amid fears that it could prove economically and politically disastrous, NHS Networks has learned.

The drug, codenamed Larductin 1.4, produced dramatic results in clinical trials, where overweight and obese subjects were able to shed up to 40% of their body mass in three weeks without making any change to their diet or exercise regime.

No adverse side-effects were recorded, though subjects commonly reported feelings of increased wellbeing and heightened libido. The best results were achieved by those who watched a lot of television or browsed the internet during periods of prolonged inactivity.

The Department of Health is accused of suppressing results of the trials and putting pressure on the medicines regulator NICE to postpone approval for the drug, after taking advice from economists, public health doctors and other experts.

Health economists say demand for the drug could stretch the NHS budget to breaking point. Ministers fear that commissioners would be tempted to prioritise the new fat-buster over cancer drugs or divert money from other much needed treatments.

Dr Jacques Sperrat, who led the team that developed the drug, said: “What we have here is a major health breakthrough, certainly the most important drug developed in the last 50 years, and governments dare not licence it because they are worried about the economic consequences. Yet the medical evidence is that this could revolutionise the treatment of obesity and transform the lives of a substantial minority of the population.”

Experts say the government also has concerns about the longer term economic impact of Larductin on health demographics.

Diane Lean, professor of sports medicine and obesity studies at Loughborough University, said: “While treatment of obesity costs the NHS a huge amount, the fact that people of weight die younger has benefits in the larger economic scheme of things.

“Far and away the biggest problem is the number of people who become older and go on to need continuing hospital treatment or social care. A dramatic increase in the number of lower-fat people with longer life expectancy could bring the economy to its knees.”

Department of Health sources acknowledge these concerns but point to other possible reasons why the government would prefer it if Larductin never saw the light of day.

“A slimmer population may be less apathetic and more inclined to vote in elections. Unless these votes were to be equally distributed between the main parties, the fear is that politically activated former couch potatoes could destabilise the government,” said one.

Public Health England has not issued a formal statement, but privately senior officials expressed grave concern at the idea of a “quick fix” alternative to good diet and healthy exercise.

A Public Health England source said: “As our latest Eatwell campaign shows, a healthier lifestyle inevitably involves suffering and self-denial. It would be dangerous to send people the message that they could be healthier and happier without exertion, privation or one of those devices that turns dull raw vegetables into tasty spirals.”

This is just the latest in a series of health-related conspiracy scandals to engulf the government. This time last year, the Department of Health pulled funding from a project on the brink of discovering a cure for gullibility.

Diet supplements editor: April Patterson

@jtweeterson

julian.patterson@networks.nhs.uk