THE worldwide "very serious shortage" of Ozempic (Semaglutide) (PD 03 Nov 2022), that first started in Apr 2022, will continue till Apr this year, Adjunct Professor John Skerritt (Pictured), head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, has said in an interview with the ABC Radio National earlier this week.
The weekly injectable drug originally designed for diabetes is being promoted online for its off-label use, which is weight loss.
"The shortage of this product worldwide is really stimulated by two things.
"It's an effective anti-diabetic drug for people with particular characteristics of their diabetes.
"It's proved to be a lot more popular and lot more valuable.
"So that drove the original shortage, and it was pushed along further by all this social media promotion for weight loss.
"And I really need to emphasise it isn't a magic pill.
"You can't have a hamburger one day and take this pill the next.
"It's designed for a narrow group of patients at a different dose, in a different form.
"But it's not yet available for weight loss."
Prof Skerritt said the TGA has been able to bring in the drug from other countries, but "they are in very, very short supply".
Prof Skerritt said the TGA is working with social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, eBay, Amazon and Gumtree to "block posts with this content because it's been all over a lot of them," he said.
He added that these platforms are well aware of the issue but "their challenge is having algorithms that effectively block illegal ads.
"And so it's a little bit like mushrooms.
"The advertisements spring up."
The TGA is strongly advising people against buying the drug online from China, Eastern Europe or North America.
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