Potentially harmful side effects of weight loss drugs are being hidden by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), MPs have warned.

During a debate in the House of Commons, it was said that the MHRA has been dishonest about the side effects of weight loss jabs, with some MPs claiming that pharmaceutical companies are “telling lies” to hide complications associated with the drugs.

The MHRA receives three quarters of its funding from pharmaceutical firms, according to MPs in parliament.

Labour MP Graham Stringer said: “The MHRA and the whole of the health industry are swimming in a sea of pharmaceutical sharks.

“Pharmaceutical companies produce some extraordinarily wonderful products that keep us safe, but they also produce huge profits, and sometimes they get their products onto the markets by telling lies, or certainly by sins of omission.”

Esther McVey, former Work and Pensions Secretary, started the debate after claiming the regulator acted too slow with identifiying problems associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Esther, the AstraZeneca vaccine caused some people to develop induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia – an autoimmune condition.

Prevoius research has found that Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro users are 50% more at risk of developing pancreatitis compared to people not using weight loss jabs.

People with pancreatitis can feel sudden and severe pain in the centre of their tummy and often feel nauseous.

In addition, a common symptom associated with pancreatitis is having a high temperature of 38C or more.

In severe cases of the condition, it can trigger the development of infection, internal bleeding, sepsis and organ failure.

Researchers have said: “While they [weight loss jabs] have a wide array of beneficial effects, they are not without risks.”

A representative from the MHRA said: “We listened closely to the debate. We will now reflect carefully on the opportunities to improve our performance in several areas, including our efforts to fully embed the patient voice throughout all our regulatory activities as we strive to be a more inclusive and transparent regulator.”

The debate can be found on Hansard.

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