It’s one of the most talked about drugs on the internet and in Australia, but the booming popularity of Ozempic has left many people living with type 2 diabetes without access to the drug.
Ozempic, a brand of anti-diabetic medicine called semaglutide, supplied by Danish company Novo Nordisk, has boomed in popularity world-wide in recent years as a drug to combat weight loss, including in Australia.
The medication has been subsidised under Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme since mid-2020.
Ozempic has been hailed as a miracle weight-loss drug by some. (ABC News: Phil Hemingway)
Although Australia’s pharmaceutical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has only approved Ozempic for treating adults with type 2 diabetes, the regulator can’t stop doctors prescribing it for other health conditions — including weight loss.
The TGA said the supply of Ozempic will be “limited” at least until the end of 2025 and has advised health professionals to inform patients of supply issues when prescribing the drug.
Another semaglutide product, Wegovy, can also be prescribed for weight loss — but unlike Ozempic, it isn’t subsidised by the PBS, making it significantly more expensive to obtain.
Peter Hatswell from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia said Australia was experiencing shortages of the drug due to Novo Nordisk not being able to produce enough to meet skyrocketing global demand.
Peter Hatswell says the manufacturer of Ozempic cannot keep up with global demand for the drug. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)
“The manufacturers can’t seem to keep up … and the worldwide market means it really does go out much faster than it comes in,” Mr Hatswell said.
“Australia is just one more country asking for as much as they can get.”
People with diabetes say finding Ozempic ‘like a lotto’
In the Northern Territory, where rates of diabetes are among the highest in the country, medical experts have warned the lack of a consistent supply of Ozempic is having a significant impact.
Residents in the Darwin satellite city of Palmerston, Ian and Cheryl Hogg are among those in the NT struggling to get their hands on Ozempic.
The couple have both been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and take other medications to manage their symptoms, however, they also have prescriptions for Ozempic after their doctor recommended it to help them lose weight.
Ian Hogg was prescribed Ozempic five years ago and said even then, the drug was hard to find but in recent months the couple have virtually given up their search.
“It’s this constant chase-up so in the end I just stopped,” Mr Hogg said.
Cheryl and Ian Hogg say they have regularly struggled to find a pharmacist that has Ozempic in stock. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Mrs Hogg said finding a stocked chemist in the Palmerston area or in Darwin, which is a half hour drive, is “like a lotto”.
“You can have a script, and you go to one chemist, and they say we don’t have it here, so you go to another chemist, and they say sorry we’ve sold out.”
As pensioners, Mr and Mrs Hogg said losing weight through exercise alone is difficult and without a consistent supply of Ozempic, maintaining their weight and controlling their diabetes is challenging.
The couple said they’ve implemented important changes to their diet and physical activity and acknowledged Ozempic isn’t a silver bullet.
“You don’t want to be dependent on it but it helps you get to a level where you can slowly move off it,” Mrs Hogg said.
Mr Hatswell, President of the Pharmacy Guild Australia’s NT branch, said the territory was not unique in its struggle to obtain Ozempic, however added logistical challenges associated with distance and remoteness made access particularly difficult.
“We don’t quite have as rapid access to the medication and that just compounds the supply problem and impacts how quickly we run out and how long people have to wait,” he said.
In remote parts of the NT, where communities may only have access to one local health clinic, the issue is even more pronounced.
According to research from Menzies School of Health, rates of diabetes among Aboriginal people in remote NT communities are some of the highest in the world, with a staggering 29 per cent of Aboriginal people in remote NT communities living with diabetes.
And that figure is even higher in Central Australia, where nearly 40 per cent of Indigenous adults live with the condition.
In Central Australia, nearly 40 per cent of Aboriginal adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. (ABC News: Alexia Attwood)
Mr Hatswell said the lack of consistent supply is having flow-on effects for patients trying to manage their diabetes.
“We get a good supply but only for a short time, we fill a number of scripts, and then basically people have to go without,” he said.
Calls for Australia to improve supply predictions
While supply and manufacturing capacity are key to addressing shortages, the NT branch of the Pharmacy Guild Australia said the government should focus on improving its ability to predict future demand.
Ozempic is among more than 425 medicines in short supply across the country and the body has warned without better forward planning, vulnerable Australians will continue to be left without critical medicines.
“We need to be forward thinking so we can predict what’s coming up so we can mitigate against the impacts of shortages when they happen,” Mr Hatswell said.
The Pharmacy Guild NT wants the government to create a better strategy for predicting future demand of medication. (AAP: Lukas Coch )
The NT Pharmacy Guild is calling on the government to re-establish the Medication Shortage Working Party which was stood up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If we can get that working party together which has all the stakeholders from manufacturers, logistics, wholesalers, doctors, and community pharmacy representatives to get together we should be able to predict ahead,” Mr Hatswell said.
The TGA said the pharmaceutical company that makes Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, has advised that it is increasing manufacturing capacity, but it will take time to build supply levels to meet global and Australian demand.
