The Ozempic shortage, explained

Brut America

Ozempic, a groundbreaking medication for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, has been in shortage in recent months. But are those using the drug for weight loss really to blame? Brut investigated ...

Transcript

00:00Everyone is on Ozempic.

00:01It's a miracle.

00:02It's too good to be true.

00:03You might have heard of Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes medication that also happens to be

00:07really effective for weight loss.

00:10Celebrities rumored to have used Ozempic have been accused of sparking a social media frenzy

00:13around the drug, causing a shortage.

00:16People are doing Ozempic parties here in LA, where they all do Ozempic.

00:20But the reasons for the shortage are a lot more nuanced.

00:23Let's take a look at how we got here.

00:29Ozempic was developed by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and FDA approved in 2017.

00:35It was a game changer for people with type 2 diabetes looking to lower their blood sugar.

00:42People with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once weekly Ozempic.

00:47Since it helps the body to make more insulin, the insulin helps to lower the glucose.

00:51Also since it slows down how quickly food moves from your stomach to your intestines,

00:55your blood sugars don't spike as much after you eat.

00:57So it gives your body more time to match those carbohydrates.

01:01In clinical trials, researchers found that Ozempic was really effective for weight loss.

01:05So Novo Nordisk rebranded semaglutide as Wigovi for weight loss at a bit of a higher dose

01:10than Ozempic.

01:11The active ingredient in Ozempic and Wigovi is identical.

01:14It's the same medication, it's semaglutide.

01:17To me, it's ridiculous that they need to make two different medications that are exactly

01:20the same and label them differently.

01:22But nonetheless.

01:23In 2021, Wigovi was FDA approved for people with obesity or overweight with at least one

01:29weight-related condition.

01:30Do they have sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, polycystic

01:36ovarian syndrome?

01:37Because those are all things that if the obesity is treated, will also secondarily be treated.

01:44In trials, Wigovi helped people lose on average nearly 15% of their starting body weight.

01:49The drug was a godsend for people who had struggled to lose weight and managed their

01:53weight-related conditions even after changing their diet and exercise.

01:57When Wigovi was launched, the company really went out and marketed it well.

02:04Plus they had this savings card so that people could get it at a relatively inexpensive rate.

02:09It being once a week, people were more willing to do it.

02:14And the weight loss that we saw was substantially higher than with the other medications.

02:20Wigovi became so popular that Novo Nordisk couldn't keep up with the demand, but doctors

02:24were told the shortage was temporary.

02:27And so many physicians thought, well, if it's temporary, then we'll prescribe Ozempic instead

02:32to tide them over until the Wigovi problem is fixed.

02:35But the problem then was the Wigovi shortage kept going on.

02:39And then there was the Ozempic shortage.

02:42Doctors were able to prescribe Ozempic off-label for weight loss, which is permitted once the

02:46treatment is cleared for something other than type 2 diabetes.

02:50And unlike Wigovi, it's easier to get covered by insurance, encouraging more doctors to prescribe it.

02:55Wigovi, on the other hand, is a lot harder to get covered because there are some plans

03:00that just have a blanket, we don't cover weight loss medications, they won't cover anything.

03:03Word of Ozempic spread among celebrities who could afford to buy it without coverage, and

03:08several public figures have commented on its use in Hollywood.

03:11Everyone is on Ozempic.

03:13It's a miracle.

03:14It's too good to be true.

03:15I didn't even know I was on it.

03:16I stopped taking it.

03:17That's too irresponsible.

03:21Ozempic then started trending on TikTok, where hashtag Ozempic stands at over 470 million

03:28views as of the time of this recording.

03:31So I'm starting Ozempic today.

03:35Week 17 Ozempic update.

03:37What I ate for lunch as a midsize girl on Ozempic.

03:40In the past, when I was trying to prescribe weight loss medications to people, they'd be

03:43very hesitant.

03:45Once they saw that famous people were doing it and it was OK and it was cool, more people

03:51wanted it.

03:53So at this point, Ozempic is being prescribed for both diabetes and weight loss.

03:57And as news of the shortages came out, many accused people using the drug for weight loss

04:02of taking away crucial medicine from people with type 2 diabetes.

04:06Thanks to the hashtag Ozempic journey, there is a shortage of Ozempic.

04:12I can't get the Ozempic that I need and that my body responds to well because a bunch of

04:18people decided, oh, well, I'm just going to use it to lose weight.

04:22But those using off-label Ozempic for weight loss say obesity is also a chronic illness

04:27and that the vast majority of these prescriptions are written for people with obesity or overweight

04:31with at least one weight related condition.

04:34Yes, I'm primarily using it for weight loss.

04:37However, there were underlying issues that I was having due to my weight.

04:43I was almost 250 pounds and I lost 105 pounds from this medicine.

04:50I'm no longer pre-diabetic.

04:52My high blood pressure is gone.

04:55I'm not being selfish by any means by using this medication.

05:00I'm trying to be here longer for my children.

05:04I think that there are people who truly need the medication to improve their health who,

05:09in an act of desperation, because they couldn't get the drug they're supposed to get, which

05:14is the Wegovy, got Ozempic.

05:17The people who are using it because they just want to be pretty.

05:20I don't agree with that part.

05:22But I think that's a minority of the people who are using it because those people can't

05:26get it through insurance.

05:27They're not going to be able to get it approved.

05:28So these are just people with a whole lot of money to throw at something that's cosmetic.

05:33For people who use semaglutide for weight loss, stopping or switching medications can

05:37worsen any weight-related conditions.

05:39Obesity is a chronic illness and needs to be treated like a chronic illness, just like

05:44we treat high blood pressure.

05:45You don't give someone a high blood pressure pill and say, oh, your blood pressure is normal

05:48now, we can stop it.

05:49So what happens if someone with type 2 diabetes can't get access to their Ozempic prescription?

05:54Well, they could switch to a different medication, but they'd be missing out on benefits only

05:59Ozempic can provide.

06:01It's been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular events, and not all diabetes medications have

06:07been shown to do that.

06:08And for people who have fatty liver, there's also data that it's helpful for that.

06:11So how did we get here?

06:13Well, if you combine the groundbreaking effectiveness of semaglutide for both diabetes treatment

06:18and weight loss, Novo Nordisk's hardcore marketing of these drugs, celebrity rumors, the power

06:24of TikTok and manufacturing delays, we get the shortages we have today.

06:28I can understand why people who are doing well on their Ozempic feel angry that they

06:35can't get it now because people are using it for other purposes.

06:40But I don't blame the people who are using it.

06:44I blame the lack of manufacturing.

06:47We live in a country where over two thirds of the population is over, are either overweight

06:52or obese.

06:53We live in a country where over 25 million people have diabetes, most of whom have type

06:572.

06:58If you're going to say we want you to use our drug all the time, then you better be

07:05prepared to give all these people medication.

Category

Transcript

Recommended