NHS warns celebrity weight loss drug Ozempic will remain in short supply 'until 2025'

A national shortage of the revolutionary weight-loss drug semaglutide is expected to persist until 2025, according to NHS England.

There has been a shortage of weekly shots since last year, when the health department announced it would start rationing its supply.

Originally developed as a diabetes treatment – ​​known as a GLP-1 drug – the drug has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years among dieters looking to lose weight quickly. It has also received celebrity endorsements from the likes of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and TV personality Sharon Osbourne.

However, more than 40,000 people in Britain with type 2 diabetes rely on the drugs to control their blood sugar levels and are struggling to get supplies.

Last year, Novo Nordisk – the manufacturer of semaglutide which markets it under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy – said supply problems would continue until mid-2024. But last week, NHS England issued a 'safety alert' warning that no deliveries are expected. to return to normal at least until the end of the year.

The alert also revealed that a supply of a certain type of GLP-1 drug called Rybelsus – a tablet version of semaglutide – had been purchased for type 2 diabetes patients. Despite this good news, the report reiterated that doctors should not prescribe these drugs for weight loss until the national shortage is resolved.

Originally developed as a diabetes treatment – ​​known as a GLP-1 drug – the drug has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years among dieters looking to lose weight quickly. It has also received celebrity endorsements from the likes of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and TV personality Sharon Osbourne

Diabetes charities have criticized private doctors who continue to offer these drugs 'off-label' – prescribing the drugs for a purpose other than that intended – to dieters, arguing that they are contributing to the shortages.

'GLP-1 medicines should not be prescribed off-label under any circumstances while there is a shortage,' says Douglas Twenefour, head of care at Diabetes UK. 'All existing supplies must be retained for people with type 2 diabetes.'

Medicines like Ozempic activate a hormone in the stomach called GLP-1, which is normally released after eating and helps the body produce more insulin – the hormone that controls the amount of sugar in the blood. Patients with diabetes do not produce enough insulin, so many have been offered GLP-1 activating drugs since 2019.

Shortly after its approval for treating diabetes, researchers discovered that the drug could also reduce appetite.

Clinical studies show that patients taking semaglutide lose an average of about 15 percent of their body weight. Patients must continue taking the drug indefinitely or they will gain weight again, research shows.

Last year, semaglutide was approved by the NHS for weight loss, sold under the brand name Wegovy. In June 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak labeled the drug a 'game-changer' and announced a pilot project that would allow GPs to offer the weekly injection to obese patients.

However, global shortages of the drug – caused by rising demand from dieters – mean that very few patients have been given the drug for this purpose through the NHS.

Since July, NHS England has instructed doctors to only prescribe GLP-1 drugs to diabetes patients. But last year, The Mail on Sunday found that online pharmacies were still selling semaglutide to patients for weight loss for as much as £300 a month.

Pharmacists warned that a prolonged shortage would endanger the health of diabetes patients.

'Without these medicines, there are diabetes patients who could see their blood sugar levels spiral out of control and cause significant damage,' says Manchester-based pharmacist Thorrun Govind, former president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. 'The priority must be these diabetes patients, and the government must take urgent action to help solve this shortage crisis.'