LONDON: UK online pharmacy Rightangled continues to offer Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic for sale to individuals interested in using it for weight loss, in defiance of a government directive to cease such sales.
Ozempic is authorized in the UK for managing blood sugar in type 2 diabetes patients, but its off-label use for weight loss has surged, leading to a national shortage of the drug.
In July, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK’s National Health Service declared a nationwide shortage of Ozempic and other drugs in the “GLP-1 receptor agonists” category due to high demand for approved and off-label applications.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) declared a shortage that will last until at least mid-2024 and ordered prescribers to cease providing Ozempic to non-diabetic individuals as soon as possible and no later than October 18. They also prohibited the initiation of new patients with type 2 diabetes on the medication for the duration of the shortage.
Rightangled’s offerings of the drug were visibly presented on their website’s “general health: weight loss” section, emphasizing that it could assist with weight loss as an off-label use for “diabetes management.” Rightangled, as well as DHSC, had not responded to requests for comment.
Other private online pharmacies that have prescribed Ozempic for weight loss this year were also reviewed by Reuters, revealing varying approaches, with some refraining from listing the drug for weight loss and others referring to it as a medicine “licensed to treat diabetes in the UK.”
