You might have heard about Ozempic — possibly you’ve even had its business jingle caught in your head.

It’s a drug billed as revolutionary for the remedy of kind 2 diabetes, however that’s not why demand for the medicine is surging. At a better dose, the drug can be utilized to deal with weight problems, which has led to its current reputation on social media as a weight-loss answer.

On-line commentators have speculated that Kim Kardashian used the diabetes drug to suit into Marilyn Monroe’s gown for final yr’s Met Gala. Host of this yr’s Critics Selection Awards, Chelsea Handler, joked that “everybody” in Hollywood is on Ozempic. TikTok movies tagged #ozempic have amassed no less than 423.1 million views — most of those movies element how a lot weight customers misplaced whereas taking the drug.

Ozempic’s viral rise has triggered shortages of the drug within the U.S. and Australia, and now customers are turning their eyes to Canada as an affordable place to get the out-of-stock medicine.

However Ozempic isn’t authorised for weight reduction, it’s meant to deal with diabetes. So how did we get right here?

Ozempic vs. Wegovy

Ozempic is a brand-name diabetes medicine manufactured by Novo Nordisk, however the medical ingredient in it’s referred to as semaglutide. Semaglutide works by mimicking a hormone referred to as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which stimulates the discharge of insulin and helps to cut back blood sugar spikes.

However that’s not all that semaglutide has been proven to do; it’s additionally efficient at regulating food plan by concentrating on areas of the mind that make an individual really feel extra full.

Novo Nordisk really manufactures two medicine the place semaglutide is the one medical ingredient: Ozempic for kind 2 diabetes, and Wegovy for weight problems. Each medicine have been authorised to be used in Canada, Ozempic since 2018 and Wegovy since 2021.

Each Wegovy and Ozempic are administered by means of injections. The one obvious distinction between the 2 medicine is that Wegovy has a barely increased dosage of semaglutide, in accordance with Novo Nordisk medical factsheets.

Each medicine additionally warn of the identical critical potential unwanted effects — thyroid tumours and most cancers — and have related widespread unwanted effects, which embody nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and stomach ache.

One other aspect impact is that when sufferers cease utilizing semaglutide, they’re more likely to put weight again on, and probably much more than they misplaced within the first place.

A research printed within the journal Diabetes, Weight problems and Metabolism signifies that when sufferers cease utilizing Wegovy and Ozempic, any weight misplaced is more likely to return.

Regardless of the similarities, Novo Nordisk informed World Information that it “doesn’t help using Ozempic for something apart from the remedy of kind 2 diabetes.”

So if Wegovy exists as a remedy for weight problems, why are individuals scrambling to get their arms on Ozempic? As a result of Wegovy is in much more quick provide than Ozempic.

Wegovy was dubbed a “sport changer” medicine by Weight problems Canada, hailing it as an efficient drug for an usually under-treated and stigmatized persistent situation.

In a weblog put up, Dr. Ian Patton, director of advocacy and public engagement for Weight problems Canada, wrote that Wegovy’s approval in Canada was important due to the present inaccessibility of evidence-based remedies for weight problems.

“This lack of protection and accessibility of efficient remedies is rooted in not recognizing weight problems as a persistent illness and somewhat incorrectly labeling it a ‘life-style’ situation or in different phrases, one thing you could have completed to your self making you unfit of remedy,” Patton wrote.

The one different remedy for weight problems that has across the identical effectiveness as Wegovy is bariatric surgical procedure, Patton wrote, although the process usually comes with “unacceptably lengthy wait instances.”

It’s been a yr and a half since Wegovy was authorised to be used in Canada, however no prescription for the drug has ever been stuffed right here as a result of it’s nonetheless not out there. Novo Nordisk stated they needed to postpone the drug’s launch in Canada on account of “unprecedented demand.”

“We’re working in the direction of business availability for Wegovy in Canada, nevertheless, we’re not but capable of affirm timing,” the corporate informed World Information.

Within the U.S. the place Wegovy was first authorised, shortages started quickly after Novo Nordisk began advertising the drug, and have persevered till right now.

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“There have been various sufferers who had been began on Wegovy who couldn’t proceed it,” stated Dr. Kimberly Gudzune, medical director of the American Board of Weight problems Medication, in an interview with CNN.

“And so, because of the form of lack of ability to get Wegovy, loads of physicians began prescribing Ozempic off-label, which they’re permitted to do, for the remedy of weight problems,” she stated.

The FDA lists Ozempic as “presently in scarcity,” citing a rise in demand for the drug.

Will there be an Ozempic scarcity in Canada?

There may be no present scarcity of Ozempic in Canada, in accordance with statements from Well being Canada and Novo Nordisk. That’s to not say Canadians gained’t see provide challenges if demand for the drug stays excessive.

Well being Canada notes that “provinces and territories are ready to make use of approved well being merchandise exterior the scope of the product’s label,” that means that Canadian docs can prescribe Ozempic to deal with illnesses apart from kind 2 diabetes.

Whereas there’s no official knowledge on what number of off-label prescriptions of Ozempic have been stuffed in Canada, media stories and social media posts present that non-diabetic Canadians are getting their arms on the drug to deal with issues like weight problems and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Novo Nordisk informed World Information that in an effort to “guarantee a steady provide of Ozempic, we’re asking physicians to solely use Ozempic for sufferers with kind 2 diabetes.”

Shortages of Ozempic within the U.S. could also be driving customers to get their prescriptions stuffed in Canada, in accordance with the B.C. Ministry of Well being.

The provincial company informed World Information that previously yr ending on Aug. 31, “83,188 prescriptions for Semaglutide (Ozempic) had been stuffed throughout the Province… with People filling 22 instances as many doses of this drug as they sometimes do of different prescribed drugs.”

“Given the medicine’ heightened profile on account of current social media traits and shortages in america, we are going to proceed monitoring the state of affairs,” wrote a ministry spokesperson.

On Twitter, discussions about Ozempic usually carry up that People are allowed to purchase Ozempic in Canada, and may accomplish that at a less expensive value.

Actually, in two current newswires, a web-based Canadian pharmacy marketed its companies to People — writing that it has Ozempic in inventory and sells it for a lot lower than American suppliers.

“There’s a want for quick-fix weight reduction merchandise, and Ozempic shortages for kind 2 diabetes remedy medicine are partially due to TikTok,” the corporate wrote. “This prescription medicine could also be more and more exhausting to search out, however it’s extra available from Canada.”

In Australia, the place there are additionally Ozempic shortages, the nationwide drug regulator is investigating social media movies and media stories that illegally promoted Ozempic as a get-thin-quick technique. Final yr, amid shortages, the drug regulator urged docs to “restrict prescribing and dishing out of semaglutide to its authorised use,” in a press launch.

B.C.’s well being ministry stated it’s “taking measures to make sure enough provides” of Ozempic, however didn’t present a solution to a World Information query about whether or not the province will urge docs to curb off-label prescriptions.

Whereas some could also be fast responsible individuals with weight problems for shortages of this diabetes drug, weight problems advocacy teams are urging individuals to not vilify using Ozempic for weight reduction.

In a Might 2022 joint assertion, The Weight problems Collective and Weight Points Community argued that although Ozempic shouldn’t be cleared for weight problems remedy, docs are prescribing it for weight reduction for a very good cause.

“Folks with weight problems who’ve been utilizing Ozempic have been doing so as a result of their physician has deemed it clinically essential for his or her healthcare and has prescribed the medicine,” the assertion reads.

“Weight problems is a persistent, relapsing well being situation, with many alternative drivers and causes — together with social, genetic, organic, and environmental — and infrequently food plan and train alone will not be sufficient for administration.”

Within the assertion, Chair of the Weight Points Community Dr. Divya Ramachandran urged individuals to have “compassion” for individuals utilizing Ozempic for weight problems.

“These taking Ozempic have had it prescribed by their physician for an entire cluster of well being points alongside their weight problems,” she stated. “Please train compassion. Please don’t place unfair blame or hate individuals when they’re merely searching for healthcare for his or her well being issues.”