Ozempic, miracle cure? For several weeks, this antidiabetic has become the star of social networks because of its slimming properties. Many influencers praise its merits on TikTok, photos and videos of their transformation in support. A phenomenon that worries Health Insurance and the Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), which, in a joint press release, announce that the drug will be subject to “reinforced surveillance”.
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 people without diabetes for the purpose 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.
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 recipients can be considered non-diabetic according to Health Insurance estimates,” she notes, thus estimating misuse at around 1%.
“Limited” diversions according 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 Agence France-Presse (AFP) in February, Novo Nordisk admitted that its “current supply capacity does not always meet this excess demand” and lamented “intermittent availability and periodic stock-outs”.
Ozempic can also “cause potentially serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal upset, pancreatitis, or hypoglycaemia,” health authorities warn. For Professor Jean-Luc Faillie, in charge of the pharmacovigilance of the drug, the risks of semaglutide are “controlled” in view of the benefits in diabetes, but “there are always uncertainties, especially in obese patients over the long term. “.
“If you use it to lose a few pounds, then the therapeutic benefit is nil, it’s just aesthetics while the risks are always present,” he warns.
