The huge price weight loss patients are willing to pay for Ozempic

The impact of diabetes drug Ozempic’s booming demand among weight watchers is forcing desperate diabetes patients into a ‘ridiculous’ competition for supply.

Ozempic has been in short supply for more than a year after it became popular on social media and among celebrities as a ‘miracle’ weight loss drug.

Patients using diabetes drug Ozempic for weight loss are paying up to $600 per pen, or $1800 for a three-pack, amid a global shortage which has led local suppliers to give special approvals to import limited stock from Europe at massive costs.

The “magic drug”, as one pharmacist called it, because it leaves the shop as soon as it arrives, has been in short supply for more than a year after it became popular on social media and among celebrities as a “miracle” weight loss drug. This has left Type 2 diabetics to “chop and change” medications, sometimes at a substantial cost to their health.

A small number of desperate diabetic patients are also buying up the $600 monthly Ozempic supply, according to pharmacists and suppliers who spoke to The Australian.

At the end of March, limited local resupplies from Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk arrived in Australia but the Therapeutic Goods Administration has now flagged further shortages to the end of June.

Online weight loss forums and Facebook pages are awash with people sharing at which pharmacies they had found their $1800 Ozempic supply. Pharmacists told The Australian doctors appeared to still be prescribing Ozempic to new patients for weight loss despite a recommendation from the TGA to prioritise Type 2 diabetics.

Medsurge, which specialises in medicine shortages, was one of the local suppliers given temporary Section 19A approval by the TGA to source the drug from overseas, and it reported that prices had increased since the UK put an export ban on Ozempic at the end of last year.

A company spokesman said a large number of people were calling Medsurge directly asking for Ozempic, which it could supply only to pharmacists and health professionals who make orders.

“There’s a very high demand from people for weight loss, and people have been paying exorbitant prices to get their hands on it,” the spokesman said.

“At one point (about two months ago), order volume exceeded capacity … we had to stop taking back orders … (Our supply) still doesn’t meet local demand, only a small portion of it.”

Sourcing Ozempic from Europe during a global shortage meant currency fluctuations, higher drug prices, as well as transport costs for the refrigerated product. Meanwhile, the company still needed to make a profit. “We don’t make the price,” the spokesman said.

Pharmacists who order Ozempic through s19A-approved companies said there was still high demand, even as the price went up from about $400 to $600 per pen in the past few months.

One West Australian pharmacist, who didn’t want to be named, said he sold about 24 pens per month at these prices, largely for weight loss. He said only about 5 per cent of this product was sold to diabetics who were desperate to refill their supply.

The pharmacy still receives about 40 calls or visits a week from people trying to get their hands on Ozempic.

The owner of a pharmacy in southeast Melbourne, who also did not want to be named, said “demand is there for people using it for weight loss and some people are willing to pay”.

The owner of A1 Discount Chemist Dina Salib called the price “ridiculous”, with the latest orders being sold at $590, but said they were getting it from s19A suppliers for between $500 and $530. “The cost price itself is ridiculous,” she said.

The pharmacy has now stopped purchasing from parallel importers because it has become too expensive for their patients, as well as due to a slight dip in demand following some supply.

A TGA spokesperson said the shortage of Ozempic in Australia was “easing”.

“Wholesalers are receiving regular shipments of stock. However, supply will continue to be limited until the end of June.

“Prescribers have been advised to avoid initiating new patients until supply stabilises and to continue to prioritise supply for people with type 2 diabetes.”