DAYTON — It’s a popular drug taken by millions to lose weight quickly.
But the FDA has warned that improperly formulated versions of Ozempic could have serious consequences.
Reports say Monday on NewsCenter 7’s DaybreakLetitia Perry reported that doctors say it’s important to know what to watch out for.
“I Semaglutide “Ozempic,” Ivanna Parra said.
Ivanna Parra says she’s willing to take risks to reach her goal weight.
“It was great,” she said. “I was able to lose 15 pounds.”
Perry reports that Parra is like countless others who have tried dieting and exercising.
Parra said the next best thing would be to go to a weight loss clinic and get a combination pill with Ozempic.
“I wanted to lose weight,” she said.
our Atlanta sister station WSB I looked at 4 different weight loss clinics.
“So, do you guys really have Ozempic?” the producer asked the woman at the front desk.
“Yes, it’s Ozempic. It’s a compounded version,” one employee replied. “And we also give injections here.”
Employees at other locations say they use a combined version.
“I’ll put four of these in a Ziploc bag, write the lot number and your name on it, and ship it out right away.”
“Okay, oh, wow. I get it. So you didn’t write Ozempic,” the producer said.
The producer had a similar experience at a third weight-loss clinic.
“Is what you have the Ozempic compound?” the manufacturer asked the worker.
The worker nodded.
“Okay, so is it also FDA approved?” the producer asked.
The worker nodded.
“Yes, that’s right,” the producer said.
WSB contacted all four clinics, but only First Doctors Wright Loss responded.
“All of our drug suppliers are fully licensed by the State of Georgia and comply with the state’s pharmacy laws. Additionally, First Doctor’s Weight Loss goes beyond our requirements by having an outside independent laboratory certify the purity of all medications before dispensing them.”
Pharmacy Mixed Ozempic By combining two or more drugs.
The FDA has allowed this because of shortages of Ozempic but has not approved the combined version.
“Well, it can be done safely. It’s just not a recommended practice,” said Shabbir Safdar, the nonprofit’s executive director. Partnership for Safe Medicines.
He said the ingredients used by compounding pharmacies could also be problematic.
“The FDA has warned that many compounding pharmacies are compounding medicines with ingredients that are not actually approved,” Safdar said.
The FDA said it had received reports that some compounders were using a different salt form of the drug than the FDA-approved version.
“We are actually seeing some Americans go into hypoglycemic shock and go into comas,” Safdar said.
The FDA said the salt form of the drug does not meet the standards for compounding.
The reason why many people go to these weight loss centers for the Ozempic combination drug is because it is cheaper than the brand-name drug.
If you use an online pharmacy, the FDA says you can check to see if it’s legitimate. click here.
