LONDON (Reuters) – John, a tech executive who has been battling weight gain since his 30s, has a nine-month supply in his refrigerator. Kim Gradwell, a retired receptionist who developed type 2 diabetes nearly 20 years ago, isn’t sure where she’ll find her next dose.The medicine is Ozempic – designed for type 2 diabetes, a life-threatening condition. It’s so effective at helping people lose weight that supplies of the active ingredient, semaglutide, have run short in countries including Britain and the United States.The contrast in access sheds light on the scramble for semaglutide in Britain, a country famed for its free public health system, showing how those with money are able to access treatments that run short on the National Health Service (NHS), despite government efforts to prioritise supplies for the NHS.
In July, the British government declared a shortage of semaglutide and intervened to prevent Ozempic reaching people who want to lose weight. But Reuters interviews with more than a dozen medical professionals and patients show people like John, who says he is obese and “well off,” can still pay thousands of pounds online to stockpile it for weight loss, while diabetics who depend on the NHS struggle to get government-paid prescriptions filled.
John shared an Oct. 26 email from private online pharmacy Rightangled, advertising Ozempic.”Look what’s back,” it said. “Grab yours before it’s gone again.” Rightangled offered the drug for 299 pounds ($366) for a month’s supply of weekly injections.NHS diabetes patients – including Gradwell, who went for weeks without full medication – pay nothing for their medication. Gradwell, 64, says she couldn’t afford to seek private treatment.
One reason such two-tier access continues is a loophole that means the government can’t ban clinicians from prescribing a drug that they think will help their patient, four medical experts said. The shortage persists even after Ozempic’s manufacturer Novo Nordisk launched Wegovy, a semaglutide drug solely for weight loss, in September.”There is a loophole,” said Penny Ward, visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at King’s College in London.
The UK’s medical regulatory bodies “do not have the right to ban doctors from prescribing drugs they believe to be helpful to individual patients,” she said. It’s a similar picture in the U.S., where the regulator also lacks power to stop clinicians prescribing drugs even at times of shortage.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson did not comment on the regulatory loophole, but said guidance is clear.”These medicines should only be prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, in order to protect supply for diabetes patients and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss,” the spokesperson said by email. The department is “considering whether further communications are required.”
John, 44, asked to be identified by his middle name to protect his privacy. He acknowledged that he benefited at the expense of those with diabetes.”The only reason I’ve been able to have a continuous flow of (Ozempic) is because I’ve thrown money at it.” he said. “I appreciate that I’ve benefited from it being a ‘Wild West.'”Rightangled told Reuters it is within its rights to continue to prescribe Ozempic for weight loss. Its owner, Abdullah Sabyah, said by email the government restrictions are “not a ban” on selling the drug for obesity.
This is correct, said the experts including Ward.Another UK online provider, Juniper, said in September it had issued Ozempic prescriptions to more than 15,000 women to lose weight in the UK over the previous 15 months. Juniper told Reuters on Nov. 16 that it, too, continues to offer Ozempic for weight loss to existing patients as they move onto Wegovy, but new patients will receive Wegovy.
Diabetic patients unable to access Ozempic suffer erratic blood glucose levels, medical professionals say – risking seizures, coma, or, rarely, death.”I have never experienced such a crisis in drug supply,” Ben Field, an endocrinologist who treats people with diabetes and has worked for the NHS since 1997, told Reuters. “People with type 2 diabetes are having their treatment destabilised, with potentially life-threatening results.”Public data does not show exactly how many people with diabetes are affected, but between March and August, NHS prescriptions by primary care doctors in England for drugs containing semaglutide fell by nearly 30,000, according to a website run by Oxford University. Seven doctors told Reuters this drop reflects the shortage.
John has shed 18 kg (40 pounds) and hopes to lose another 20 kg. The government’s July order, known as a Patient Safety Alert, told prescribers to “only prescribe GLP-1 RAs for their licensed indications” from Oct. 18. It also said using them to manage obesity was “strongly discouraged.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson did not comment on the regulatory loophole, but said guidance is clear.”These medicines should only be prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, in order to protect supply for diabetes patients and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss,” the spokesperson said by email. The department is “considering whether further communications are required.”
Asked about the pharmacies’ continued sale of Ozempic, the GPhC said it would check this at their next scheduled inspections.
