Ozempic’s popularity has made a dent in people with type 2 diabetes.

Jim Cox has heard that Ozempic is not available because it is used off-label for weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes. I don’t think the shortage will affect him.

He also has the disease, but takes a different drug called Trulicity, the same medication as Ozempic in the GLP-1 class.

But “I had to go to my local pharmacy to get my Trulicity and say, ‘I’m sorry. We’re out,’ Cox said. “The prescription cannot be renewed.”

Cox said the pharmacist recommends calling a few times a week to check if the medication is in stock. His loyalty needs to be analyzed in order for it to last.

“There are people worse off than me who need these things,” he said. This is their lifeline,” he said.

He was right. The wrong medicines can cause uncontrolled blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, e.g. For example, snow can build up in the kidneys and eyes. Truth and similar diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro have been in short supply over the past 18 months.

Patients cannot fill prescriptions.

Telehealth company Ro has created a free online tool to help patients report drug shortages. every few seconds The map lights up with a small lightning bolt, indicating that someone there is going to the pharmacy to get their weight loss or diabetes medicine and can’t fill the prescription.

The tracker received 35,000 outage reports in the first two weeks in mid-June, Ro CEO Zach Reitano said. “I’m sorry for getting so much.” The tool, available even to non-Ro.co customers, tells people when their GLP-1 medication can be found within 100 miles of where they live.

The drugs have been so successful that drugmakers have been unable to keep up with demand, said Rena Conti, a health economist at Boston University.

“They should be prepared to meet the demands of their aggressive advertising campaigns,” says Conti.

“This is a very serious situation; Medicines that are very commonly used in the management of diabetes, Obesity is also a serious metabolic condition, she said. “The demand that comes from weight loss and off-label use is also real.”

Still, Hollywood Fueled by social media influencers and ubiquitous advertising on social media, Ozempic’s popularity has led to people taking these pills wanting to lose a few pounds for cosmetic reasons.

“If someone is overweight, they have an opportunity to take that weight loss medication,” said Cox, a type 2 diabetes patient who can’t fill her Trulicity prescription. “I have no problem with that. It’s people who are tight with 8, 10, 12, 20 pounds.”

TV commercials for GLP-1 drugs approved to treat type 2 diabetes include drug manufacturers’ own TV commercials, even though those drugs are not legal.

This kind of advertising infuriates Cox.

“They just got on board,” he said. “They see dollar signs and they go after them and their bottom line customers. They don’t think about the fact that they are hurting their patients.”

Eli Lilly, which makes Trulicity and Mounjaro, has publicly announced its use of GLP-1 drugs for “cosmetic weight loss” and other inappropriate uses. Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic, says its ad is aimed at educating patients, not promoting off-label use.

“Although Wegovy and Ozempic both contain semaglutide, they are different products with different indications, dosages, information, titration schedules and forms of delivery,” Eric Althoff, who spoke on behalf of Novo Nordisk, wrote in an email to NPR. “The products are not interchangeable and should not be used outside of their FDA-approved indications.”

Which patients should be prioritized?

Still, Storing medicines for the people they are authorized to treat is proving to be a challenge.

At CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefit manager; The solution involves looking at the patient’s history with the company to see if a patient has diabetes. About a third of the time, says Dr. Daniel Knecht, chief innovation officer at CVS Caremark; The company then said it would require a doctor’s prior authorization to justify the prescription.

“About 84% of providers who fill out this prior authorization are denied,” he said. This means that most of those patients are not actually diabetic and are using it off-label,” he said.

Some doctors say CVS Caremark’s approach could lead to more problems.

Dr. Scott Isaacs, president-elect of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, says there is overlap between patients with type 2 diabetes and those who need GLP-1s for weight loss. Still, He may prescribe diabetes medication to a patient who has lost weight; Conversely: Any drug covered by the patient’s insurance will be prescribed.

He was upset about the annoying trend at the pharmacy counter.

“I feel like it’s discriminating against obesity,” he said. “They know the patients; It shouldn’t be like this or it’s only for diabetics. Even if the doctor prescribed it, they will tell you that you are abusing the drug.”

A person with diabetes may respond more immediately to not taking one of these medications, but Isaacs says both groups of patients really need their medications.

It’s unclear how the shortages will be addressed, but drugmakers are said to be investing in new factories and ramping up production.

Copyright 2024; NPR