A box of Ozempic and Mounjaro, semaglutide and tirzepatide injections used to treat type 2 diabetes.George Frey
Nova Scotia doctors have suspended the license of a doctor who allegedly signed more than 17,000 prescriptions in three months for a diabetes drug widely used off-label for weight loss. Prescriptions filled in Canada were sent primarily to patients in the United States.
“Based on volume alone, prescribing is not up to professional standards. Hmm. On the surface, the prescription looks incompetent,” Dr. Gus Grant, registrar and chief executive officer of the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons, said in a statement Thursday. He said a more detailed investigation is currently underway.
Dr. Grant’s statement names Dr. David William Davison as the prescribing physician. He is the only doctor by that name on the University of Nova Scotia list, and the university’s website lists a practice in Monahans, Texas. Dr. Davison was not available for comment.
Canadian pharmacists require the signature of a Canadian doctor to fill prescriptions for US citizens.
BC restricts cross-border sales of Ozempic drug causing shortages, health minister says
Americans cross-border shopping for Ozempic in BC
BC Health Minister Adrian Dix discovered Ozempic’s pipeline from Canada to the United States late last year. He directed staff to cover the drug under his PharmaCare, the state’s publicly funded prescription program. The challenge, he learned, was that a significant amount of state supplies were diverted to the U.S., raising concerns about availability. Ordered an internal investigation into Ozempic’s online pharmacy transactions.
The study found that two pharmacies in Metro Vancouver served most of the prescriptions signed by doctors in Nova Scotia and delivered to addresses in the United States.
The College of Pharmacists of BC said it has surveyed some pharmacies to determine whether they comply with standards of practice related to online sales, and the review continues.of standard Require pharmacists to check the completeness and adequacy of prescriptions, review patient health information, and discuss medication history with patients.
Dix said the lawsuit with Ozempic exposed a troubling gap in Canada’s ability to protect its drug supply. “The process itself raises issues and concerns,” he said in an interview. He said Canada does not have sufficient supplies of Ozempic to serve the American market and protect Canadian patients.
Online companies target US customers with promises of “cheap” Canadian Ozempic. Because Canada regulates the price of patented drugs, Ozempic costs three times as much as he does in the United States.
online pharmacies such as canada drug direct Encourage U.S. shoppers to take advantage of the non-profit healthcare system.
Cross-border pharmacy shopping has been a problem for years. In 2019, while seeking the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders traveled to Windsor, Ontario on an American bus.had crossed borders for cheaper insulin.
Later this month, British Columbia plans to enact regulations that allow the province to stop selling prescription drugs online to US residents when supplies are low. B.C. regulations leave room for online pharmacies to shift their sales operations to other states.
Dix is calling on Ottawa and his state counterparts to also address the regulatory gaps that exist. “The federal government certainly has a role to play,” he said.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, in a written response from his office, said he supported B.C.’s actions, but there is no widespread shortage of diabetes drug Ozempic in Canada at this time. .
Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk in Denmark, is in a class of drugs called semaglutides that are approved in Canada for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Semaglutide helps patients control blood sugar levels when another diabetes drug, metformin, is ineffective.
Ozempic’s market dominance was sparked by Novo Nordisk’s massive advertising campaign in the US and widespread speculation on social media about which celebrities are using the drug for weight loss. Its popularity may wane as other versions of semaglutide become available, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, which is specifically approved for weight loss.
This means consumer attention may shift to another label, Dix said. He plans to put pressure on Duclos to close loopholes and prevent other drugs from being similarly abused when he meets later this month.
“Waiting for shortages doesn’t seem like a good strategy,” he said.
