Ozempic’s weight-loss lawsuit, hailed as a “miracle” by Elon Musk and Jeremy Clarkson, puts the lives of diabetics at risk, doctors say, as people who want to lose weight feed the national shortage.
- Semaglutide has been hailed as a “miracle” weight loss drug by many celebrities.
- Marketed under the brand name Ozempic, it is available on the NHS for diabetes.
Doctors and pharmacists have been warned to stop prescribing diabetes drugs to people who just want to lose weight.
Semaglutide has been hailed as a “miracle” weight loss drug by celebrities like Elon Musk and Jeremy Clarkson.
But health officials have warned that the clamor for it and similar drugs is fueling a national shortage that is putting the lives of diabetics at risk.
Marketed under the brand name Ozempic, it is available on the NHS as a treatment to control blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
It was also approved in May for weight loss under the Wegovy brand, but has yet to launch in the UK due to supply difficulties.
Marketed under the brand name Ozempic, it is available on the NHS as a treatment to control blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
The delay has led to a rise in ‘off-label’ prescribing, where drugs are issued for something other than their intended use, which is exacerbating shortages and means diabetes patients are struggling to get their essential medication, which authorities say can have ‘serious clinical implications’.
This week, the Department of Health issued a national patient safety alert urging all health care providers not to dispense obesity medications.
It states: ‘Supply problems have been caused by an increase in demand for these products for licensed and off-label indications.
Off-label use of these agents for the treatment of obesity is strongly discouraged. Existing stock should be retained for use in patients with diabetes.
“This shortage has serious clinical implications for the management of patients with type 2 diabetes.”
The alert relates to a variety of drugs, known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1 RA) agonists, including Ozempic, Rybelsus, Trulicity and Bydureon. These work by hijacking the brain to suppress appetite.
Tests of the Wegovy weekly injection revealed that those who took it lost around 12 percent of their body weight and cut their chances of developing type 2 diabetes by more than half.
Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical giant behind it and Ozempic, said it was still experiencing intermittent supply constraints due to “unprecedented levels of demand.”
Semaglutide has been hailed as a “miracle” weight loss drug by celebrities like Elon Musk and Jeremy Clarkson.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says it is working with officials to ensure diabetes patients can access these drugs or “other clinically appropriate alternatives”.
Dr Laura Squire, from the MHRA, said: “Where there is a potential supply shortage of a medical product that may pose a risk to public health, we stand ready to use our regulatory processes to minimize those risks.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We expect all healthcare service providers, whether NHS or private, and all those with prescribing responsibility, give due regard to national guidance.
‘The guidance is clear that these medicines should only be prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, in order to protect the supply for patients with diabetes.
“Medications that are licensed solely to treat type 2 diabetes should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss.”
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said: “We support the additional guidance issued to healthcare professionals and, in particular, echo the direction that the off-label use of diabetes medications for management is strongly discouraged. of obesity”.
“We do not promote, suggest or encourage the off-label use or misuse of any of our medications.”
