Ozempic, originally prescribed for diabetes patients, has recently seen a surge in demand due to its unexpected effectiveness in helping people lose weight. The drug has received heavy promotion from celebrities including Elon Musk, and is now increasingly hard to come by, including in Luxembourg.
In Autumn last year, Luxembourg’s Health Directorate put out a memo in an attempt to get physicians to only prescribe the drug to diabetics. However, the shortage is now so acute that there is talk of temporarily putting the restriction into law, according to Health Director Dr Jean-Claude Schmit.
Schmit admitted: “Yes, the shortage is growing. The European Medicines Agency informed us over the last couple of days that they expect the problem to get worse in the coming months. That is why the decision was taken, also because other countries have done so in the meantime. Belgium, for instance, has also issued a limiting resolution.”
Since it is not a matter of simple readjustment to a different drug for diabetes patients, the shortage is posing serious problems, Dr Schmit further noted: “So the problem is that when a diabetic is well set up with a treatment, it is always difficult to readjust. It is always complicated. It usually engenders a phase where sugar levels are no longer well, where one has to play around with the dose and so on. That is why it would be extremely regrettable if people had to now switch to a different treatment.”
Ozempic aids in lowering blood sugar levels, which inadvertently also reduces hunger. Semaglutide, the active component responsible for the effect, has to be taken regularly, meaning short-term use does not help in reducing weight, says Dr Schmit: “So the drug helps if one is simultaneously making efforts to adjust one’s diet, be physically active, the classic stuff one does against obesity.”
In the meantime, a drug with the same active component, but designed specifically for weight loss, has been authorised in Europe. Since there is now a multitude of companies working on similar products, Dr Schmit hopes that the shortage for diabetics will be resolved in a matter of months.
Global shortages of diabetes medication as manufacturers struggle with demand
