In short supply: diabetics scramble to find medication
People who need Ozempic, a Type 2 diabetes drug, are scrambling to track it down.
Ozempic was originally created to lower blood sugar, but demand for the injectable drug has skyrocketed because of one of its side effects – significant weight loss.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirms Ozempic is currently in short supply, and local pharmacies are struggling to keep it on the shelves. Patients are having trouble getting their prescriptions filled.
Erich Cushey, a pharmacist and owner of Curtis Pharmacy in Claysville and three other pharmacies in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, has been handling an influx of calls about Ozempic.
“It’s hit or miss. One week you get one strength, the next week you get another,” said Cushey. “We get calls (for Ozempic) all the time. We have a list of who our patients are, and make sure our existing patients are taken care of first.”
Ozempic is a brand name for semaglutide, which the FDA approved in 2017 to treat and manage Type 2 diabetes. The FDA first approved it in 2017 for the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes and heart complications in people with the condition.
But in clinical trials, Ozempic turned out to have a side effect: weight loss. In 2022, the FDA approved an almost identical drug, Wegovy, for weight loss.
Demand for Wegovy outweighed the supply, so doctors began prescribing Ozempic off-label.
“It’s helped so many people lose weight. Anecdotally, people have lost 30, 40, 50 pounds,” said Cushey. “I think (manufacturer Novo Nordisk) had enough in the pipeline for use by diabetics, but they didn’t expect the explosion (for weight loss).”
In some cases, patients have had to search several pharmacies to get their hands on the medication; in other cases, they’ve been forced to use a lower dose. And those who can’t find Ozempic have had to switch to another medication.
Chris Dugan of Canonsburg uses Ozempic to manage his Type 2 diabetes, but he hasn’t been able to get it since November.
“In September I had a doctor’s appointment and the doctor said we’ll give you samples until you can get the Ozempic filled. In November, I called the doctor for more samples and he said, ‘I have no samples left,'” recalled Dugan.
His doctor prescribed him a different medication, Trulicity, but he used his last injectable pen on Wednesday, but that drug, too, is in short supply.
So he switched to an oral diabetes medication.
Ozempic has gone viral on TikTok, where TikTokers showcase their dramatic weight loss achievements, and it has been used by celebrities to drop weight.
Dugan, too, experienced significant weight loss on Ozempic.
“Ozempic, in terms of weight loss, it basically eliminates you wanting to eat. I eat because I have to eat when I’m on it; it’s the only reason I eat,” said Dugan, who dropped 40 pounds in five months on the medication.
Dugan’s son, Brian Dugan, is a pharmacist for several Rite Aid pharmacies in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the drugstore’s wholesaler has struggled to get Ozempic for months.
“We were telling patients to see if their doctor could write them a prescription for Trulicity or Mounjaro, and now, the shortage has blossomed into Trulicity, Mounjaro, any drug in that class because of people using it for weight loss,” said Brian Dugan. “Now, it’s the whole drug class. There are other options for diabetes, but it’s the appeal of only having to take the medication one time a week.”
In a statement, Novo Nordisk attributed the shortages to a combination of high demand and global supply constraints.
Ozempic is one of several popular prescription drugs – among them amoxicillin, Adderall, children’s Tylenol and Tamiflu – that are or recently have been in short supply on store shelves.
The FDA said drug shortages can occur for several reasons, including manufacturing and quality problems, delays, and discontinuations.
For example, Cushey said, when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017, it damaged a key manufacturer of IV bags, causing a temporary shortage.
But, said Cushey, who has been a pharmacist for 28 years, “I haven’t experienced anything like this, to have so many things go short at once. There’s no rhyme or reason.”