United States: Companies that make diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy warned Monday that compounded versions of an active ingredient in the drugs have now been linked to at least 100 hospitalizations and 10 deaths.
Crisis of Semaglutide and Growth of Compound Medicines
Semaglutide and other diabetes and weight loss medicines are out of stock for over two years as millions of American patients try to get the drugs. The shortage has now resulted in compounded drugs which are drugs prepared by unauthorized pharmacies in cases where legally approved drugs are scarce. That is why the use of compounded versions looks like an option; however, these drugs are very unsafe, and some of them contain wrong or fake semaglutide formulations, as reported by HealthDay.
Investigation of Drug Dosing Errors and Their Consequence
Most of the events were reported to the FDA, and the latter has identified multiple incidents pertaining to CEQ injections, some of which were associated with hospitalization. These reports are obtained from the FDA adverse event reporting system and are spontaneous and thus unconfirmed, and does not confirm causality. The FDA has also pointed out that some products compounded with semaglutide pose other risks of safety, including containing wrong salt forms or counterfeit ingredients.
Continuing Shortage: Demand and Supply Mayhem
Semaglutide remains scarce and is still impacting both Ozempic and Wegovy with the smallest dosage of Wegovy still unavailable. The FDA is furthering its collaboration with Novo Nordisk to determine whether the need for semaglutide outweighs its supply as millions of people still use these drugs to combat diabetes and obesity, as reported by HealthDay.
Jorgensen made it clear that Novo Nordisk is working with the FDA to tackle the increasing issues but noted that it goes on.
