The diabetes and weight reduction drugs Ozempic and Wegovy at the moment are thought-about to be obtainable after greater than two years after being declared in scarcity by the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA).
Whereas the medication stay on the scarcity listing for now, they’re not listed as “currently in shortage” by the FDA. Each Ozempic and Wegovy are types of semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist drug manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
When reached for remark, an FDA spokesperson advised The Hill, “The FDA is at present working to find out whether or not the demand or projected demand for semaglutide inside america exceeds the obtainable provide.
“Although all dosages of a drug may currently be listed as available, the criteria for moving a drug off the Drug Shortages list must still be met,” they added.
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson confirmed their two high-profile drugs at the moment are “available.”
“This update is a result of our significant investment in capacity and ongoing communication with the FDA. Our intentional approach to gradually increase supply into the U.S. market is working,” the spokesperson stated.
“It is important to note that even when a medication is available, patients may not always be able to immediately fill their prescription at a particular pharmacy,” the Novo Nordisk spokesperson added. “Patients may experience variability at a particular pharmacy location regardless of whether a drug is in shortage.”
This information comes lower than a month after Mounjaro and Zepbound, additionally GLP-1 agonists, had been declared to not be in scarcity after almost two years.
The top of the shortages for Mounjaro and Zepbound, each types of tirzepatide, set off an industry-wide dispute from compounding pharmacies who’ve been capable of promote unbranded copies of GLP-1 medication so long as they have been in scarcity. The FDA just lately stated it will rethink taking tirzepatide off the shortages listing.
Firms like Hims & Hers and Noom have been promoting compounded semaglutide on-line, with Hims & Hers shopping for its personal compounding pharmacy. When the tirzepatide scarcity ended, the FDA made it clear that compounded variations weren’t permitted to be bought.
