- Semaglutide shortage until 2025
- Diabetic patients face risk
- NHS rationing affects supplies
National Health Service England projects that a scarcity of the revolutionary weight loss medication semaglutide will persist at the national level until 2025.
Supply shortages of weekly injections have persisted since the health service declared last year that it would implement rationing of its inventory.
The medicine has skyrocketed in popularity since its discovery as a GLP-1 diabetic therapy. This is among dieters seeking rapid weight loss in recent years. Additionally, prominent figures such as television personality Sharon Osbourne and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk have endorsed the product.
However, more than 40,000 individuals with type 2 diabetes in the United Kingdom depend on these medications for blood sugar regulation and have had difficulty obtaining supplies.
Novo Nordisk, the producer of semaglutide sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, predicted supply problems would persist until the mid-2024 period last year.
NHS England issued a “safety alert” last Monday, stating that supply will not resume until the end of the year.
According to the alert, type 2 diabetes patients had pre-ordered Rybelsus, a pill containing semaglutide and GLP-1. Despite this promising result, doctors should not prescribe weight-loss medicines until the nationwide shortage is resolved.
Criticism of Off-Label Prescriptions
Private physicians who continue to prescribe these drugs to dieters “off-label” or for a purpose other than what is intended have been criticized by diabetes charities because they are contributing to the shortages.
Under no circumstances should off-label GLP-1 medications be prescribed during a shortage,” advises Douglas Twenefour, director of care at Diabetes UK. “Every available supply must be preserved for individuals with type 2 diabetes.”
Ozempic and other drugs increase stomach GLP-1 production, which occurs after eating. This mechanism facilitates increased insulin production, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. Since 2019, numerous patients diagnosed with diabetes who do not produce sufficient insulin have been prescribed GLP-1-activating medications.
Immediately following the drug’s approval for diabetes treatment, scientists discovered that it could also suppress appetite.
Clinical trials indicate that, on average, semaglutide-treated patients lose approximately 15% of their body weight. Patients must continue taking the medication indefinitely, according to research, or they will regain weight.
Semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy, was approved by the NHS for weight loss last year. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak referred to the medication as a “game-changer” in June 2023. He unveiled a pilot initiative permitting general practitioners to administer the weekly injection to rotund patients.
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NHS Challenges Amid Shortages
However, due to global shortages of the medication, which have been exacerbated by the increasing demand from individuals on a diet, the NHS has only provided it to a very small number of patients for this purpose.
Since July, physicians treating diabetes patients have been instructed by NHS England to prescribe only GLP-1 medications. However, online pharmacies continued to charge patients up to £300 per month for semaglutide intended for weight loss.
A prolonged scarcity, pharmacists cautioned, would endanger the health of diabetic patients.
Former Royal Pharmaceutical Society chair and Manchester-based pharmacist Thorrun Govind stated, “Without these medications, there are diabetic patients whose blood sugar could spiral out of control and cause significant harm.” “Diabetic patients must be the top priority, and the government must act immediately to resolve this shortage crisis.”
