European Medicines Agency Warns of Diabetics’ Risk Amid Ozempic Shortage
- Some doctors have been prescribing Ozempic for weight loss
- Use as slimming treatment may endanger diabetics, EMA says
An Ozempic injectior.
Source: Getty Images
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The increasing use of diabetes drug Ozempic as a weight-loss treatment prompted the European Medicines Agency to urge doctors to prioritize the injection made by Novo Nordisk A/S for diabetics, who may be at risk if they don’t get it.
Demand for Ozempic has surged because it’s the same drug as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight-loss treatment, but at a different dose. Doctors have been prescribing Ozempic off-label to patients desperate to try the most recent weight-loss treatment. While Ozempic is sold across Europe, Wegovy is yet to launch in most of the region and has also faced shortages in the US.