Influencers promote on social networks the slimming virtues of this drug which acts as an appetite suppressant.
Ozempic, an antidiabetic that has become the star of social networks because of its slimming properties, will be the subject of a “enhanced monitoringin France, announced Wednesday in a joint press release the Health Insurance and the ANSM (Medicine Safety Agency). Ozempic has been marketed in France by the Novo Nordisk laboratory since 2019, on medical prescription only, in the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes.
«Reports from the field report misuse in non-diabetic people with the aim of weight loss“, indicate the ANSM and the Health Insurance, recalling that its use must be reserved for diabetics. They will strengthen surveillance by monitoring sales and reimbursement data from the national health data system (SNDS), reports of non-compliant use and reports of adverse effects to regional pharmacovigilance centres.
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According to the data cited by the ANSM, between October 2021 and October 2022, approximately 600,000 patients received a drug from the class of GLP-1 analogues, including 215,000 patients the specialty Ozempic. Of these, “2,185 Ozempic beneficiaries can be considered non-diabetic according to Health Insurance estimates“, notes the Health Insurance, thus estimating the misuse at around 1%.
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Misappropriations “boundariesaccording to the authorities, who are however concerned about the impact on the availability of the product for diabetic patients. Supply tensions have been noted by the ANSM and the laboratory, in particular due to an explosion in demand worldwide. Interviewed by AFP in February, Novo Nordisk admitted that his “current supply capacity does not always meet this excess demand“and lamented”intermittent availability and periodic stockouts».
Ozempic can alsolead to potentially serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal disturbances, pancreatitis or hypoglycaemia“, warn the health authorities. For Professor Jean-Luc Faillie, in charge of the drug’s pharmacovigilance, the risks of semaglutide are “mastered“in view of the benefits in diabetes but”there are always uncertainties, especially in obese patients over the long term». «If it is used to lose a few pounds, there the therapeutic benefit is nil, it’s just aesthetics while the risks are always present“, he warns.
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