Taking Ozempic without a doctor’s recommendation can “lead to potentially serious adverse effects” but also supply strains for diabetics.
Ozempic, an antidiabetic that has become the star of social networks, will be subject to “reinforced surveillance” in France, announce this Wednesday in a joint statement from Health Insurance and ANSM (Medicine Safety Agency). This drug is promoted by some influencers for its weight loss properties, raising fears of supply problems and risks for non-sick people consuming it.
“Reports from the field report misuse in non-diabetic people for the purpose of weight loss,” the statement said, recalling that its use should be reserved for diabetics.
On TikTok, the hashtag #Ozempic currently peaks at more than 500 million views. “I started Ozempic six weeks ago,” says an American tiktoker in a video viewed nearly 100,000 times. “I didn’t do any exercise, I just injected the product!”.
2,185 Ozempic recipients considered non-diabetic
The health authorities will therefore strengthen the surveillance of Ozempic by monitoring sales and reimbursement data, reports of non-compliant use and reports of adverse effects to regional pharmacovigilance centers. This medicine is normally obtained only on medical prescription, in the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes.
According to the data cited by the ANSM, between October 2021 and October 2022, approximately 600,000 patients received a drug from the class of GLP-1 analogues, including 215,000 patients the specialty Ozempic. Among the latter, “2185 beneficiaries of Ozempic can be considered as non-diabetics according to the estimates of the Health Insurance”, notes the Health Insurance, thus estimating the misuse at around 1%.
Diversions “limited” according to the authorities, who are however concerned about the impact on the availability of the product for diabetic patients.
Risk of supply tensions and health concerns
Tensions on the supply have thus been noted by the ANSM and the Novo Nordisk laboratory marketing this drug, in particular due to an explosion in demand at the global level. Asked by AFP in February, Novo Nordisk admitted that its “current supply capacity does not always meet this excess demand” and lamented “intermittent availability and periodic stock-outs”.
The drug is thus in short supply in Australia.
On the other hand, Ozempic was never approved as a treatment for weight loss. It can “lead to potentially serious adverse effects, such as gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis or hypoglycaemia”, warn health authorities.
For Professor Jean-Luc Faillie, in charge of the pharmacovigilance of the drug, the risks of taking it are “controlled” in view of the benefits in diabetes but “there are always uncertainties, especially in obese patients in the long term. “.
“If we use it to lose a few pounds, there the therapeutic benefit is zero, it’s just aesthetics while the risks are always present,” he warns.
