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Ozempic, a brand of the popular type 2 diabetes drug semaglutide that has gained popularity online for its use as a weight loss treatment, will remain in shortage in Australia until the end of the year.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said while stockpiles of the drug are improving, the scale of the demand for it means it will be in short supply until at least December 31.
Novo Nordisk, the supplier of Ozempic, is anticipating supply will be steady for the remainder of 2023.
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While the drug has become increasingly popular as a weight loss treatment, the TGA says it should only be prescribed for patients with type 2 diabetes.
"Novo Nordisk and other organisations representing health professionals and patient groups have recommended that prescriptions for Ozempic should continue to be limited to the registered Australian indications," the TGA said.
"Ozempic is indicated for treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes, in conjunction with diet and exercise, when it is not sufficiently controlled with other medicines."
The TGA said limiting Ozempic to diabetes patients is not an attempt to minimise the seriousness of other conditions, like obesity.
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"The TGA recognises Ozempic is used to treat other chronic health conditions such as obesity, and that obesity is a serious chronic disease that is challenging to manage," it said.
"Decisions to encourage limiting the use of a medicine to a particular condition during a shortage are difficult, and not intended to imply that other conditions are not important."
Ozempic, which has the side-effect of suppressing appetite, sprung into the public eye as a weight loss treatment following heavy social media promotion.
TikTok, in particular, had a significant amount of content promoting the drug, with videos with the hashtag #ozempic racking up tens of millions of views last year.
A higher-dose version of semaglutide called Wegovy – which is also supplied by Novo Nordisk – was approved in Australia for chronic weight management last year.
However, the TGA said it was still not available in Australia yet.
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