The newspaper identified "Mounjaro and Wegovy" as the drugs at the centre of the campaign, which it said is being led by their manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
It put the two companies’ spending on sponsorships and payments to medical professionals at about PLN 25 million (EUR 5.7 million) last year, saying the scale of the lobbying effort had drawn criticism from health ministry officials.
The companies' campaign has "crossed the walls of parliament and the limits of decency," Rzeczpospolita said.
Organisations funded by the two companies have been active in obesity awareness campaigns and events, including those held in parliament, the newspaper reported.
According to the paper, PLN 16 million (EUR 3.6 million) went to sponsorship of scientific societies, universities, hospitals and patient organisations, while about PLN 9 million (EUR 2 million) was paid for medical professionals' services.
The figure does not include funding for doctors’ travel to conferences, it added.
The head of Poland's health technology assessment agency has so far not recommended reimbursement for either drug.
Citing estimates, Rzeczpospolita said covering Mounjaro would cost the government an extra PLN 550 million (EUR 125 million) over two years, while Wegovy would cost about PLN 860 million (EUR 195 million) over four years.
Poles spent nearly PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 340 million) on the two drugs last year, including PLN 1.29 billion on Mounjaro and PLN 182 million on Wegovy, according to the report.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP, rp.pl, rynekzdrowia.pl