- Tirzepatide helped people with type 2 diabetes lose more than 20 percent of their body weight
- UK prescription regulators have not yet given the go-ahead for the drug’s use
As Britain’s prescription watchdog faces increased pressure to approve a breakthrough drug, online scammers are using platforms like TikTok to put desperate diabetics at risk as drug shortages hit. Selling fake weight loss pills.
The trial found that one-third of people with type 2 diabetes who took the new drug tirzepatide lost more than 20 percent of their weight and controlled blood sugar levels in just over a year. An obese person with an average weight of 16.5 cents (105 kg) lost 50 pounds (23 kg) in 17 months.
This makes the treatment twice as effective as semaglutide. Semaglutide is now NHS-approved for type 2 diabetes and has been used only for weight loss since March.
The survey reveals how social media accounts are marketing tirzepatide to UK patients, as well as trying to sell UK-approved medicines to people struggling to maintain supplies of weight loss drugs. It was revealed. The account offered reporters 10mg for just £100.
But experts warn there is no way for patients to be sure what they are buying is genuine. Instead, it could be fake or contain other dangerous chemicals that the user doesn’t know about.
Tirzepatide suppresses appetite, leads to weight loss, and stimulates the production of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Both of these are essential in controlling her type 2 diabetes.
When early results from the tirzepatide study were presented at a 2018 medical conference, Dallas-based diabetes expert Dr. said he was calling. Until then, kind. “But Tirzepatid is really King Kong,” he added.
The new drug has already been approved by US health officials. But Britain’s prescription watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Evaluation (NICE), said in June it needed “further evidence” to give the drug (branded Mounjaro) the go-ahead for NHS use.
The decision has shocked diabetes and obesity treatment experts who agree that weekly self-injection treatments are highly effective and have minimal side effects.
Moreover, the demand for semaglutide is so high that there is a worldwide shortage of semaglutide, meaning that diabetics who have long depended on semaglutide do not have access to it. Experts say alternative prescribing options can ease this pressure. .
The NICE Approval Board will reconvene in early August and will announce its latest decisions shortly. NHS England Diabetes Advisor Prof Partha Carr, who attended the meeting, said he now felt that tirzepatide should be given the go-ahead.
“Since there is a large inventory problem with semaglutide, we feel that tirzepatide should be available,” he said. “Clinically, the data in type 2 diabetes appear to be very strong. Head-to-head trials with semaglutide show better results with semaglutide.
“I was not present at the first committee meeting, but I was surprised by the decision not to approve it. [in August]. The question is whether it is cost-effective, and NICE will need to cooperate. [tirzepatide manufacturer] Eli Lilly agrees on the price. I am hoping for better results this time. “
Last month, pharmaceutical industry officials told the Mail on Sunday that some patients, unable to obtain their regular medications, purchased them from unlicensed online sources and unknowingly counterfeited them. He said he was worried that he might end up buying the goods.
Fake semaglutide has been seized by regulators in Australia, Ireland, Nigeria, Turkey and the United States. In July, the Swiss drug regulator warned against buying drugs from unreliable sources after several people were hospitalized for using fake weight-loss drugs. In one case, a syringe pen packaged as Ozempic contains a potent insulin drug that can be fatal if injected in even the smallest amount.
However, our government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recorded only one case of counterfeit semaglutide in May.
Now, a Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered an account on the social media app TikTok that claims to sell tirzepatide in the UK. One directs the user to a website where the drug sells for between £160 and £350.
It instructs its customers to pay by bank transfer or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, a form of digital money. No mention of prescriptions.
Another account simply provides a mobile phone number and instructs users to contact via the messaging app Whatsapp. Our reporter did so and was told that tirzepatide would be sent in an unlabeled vial for “about £100 for 10 mg”. All we had to do was say the amount we wanted and we were given a “payment link”.
These and many other TikTok accounts also sold semaglutide and other weight loss drugs.
“The MHRA Criminal Enforcement Division seeks to identify those who illegally traffic in pharmaceuticals and uses its powers to take enforcement action, including prosecuting those who endanger health,” an MHRA spokesperson said. Ta.
“Purchasing medicines from illegally traded online suppliers greatly increases the risk of obtaining counterfeit products or products not authorized for use in the UK. You may be at risk.”
Semaglutide is the most effective of a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, the first of which was developed a decade ago to treat type 2 diabetes. . These drugs mimic her GLP-1 hormone in the gut that promotes the release of insulin, which regulates blood sugar. But scientists have also found that it suppresses appetite, makes you feel full when you eat, and leads to weight loss.
A series of studies consistently showed that semaglutide reduced weight in obese patients by approximately 10 percent and maintained that weight as long as treatment continued. This result was achieved even when volunteers made no other changes, such as having a special diet or more exercise.
Semaglutide has been available in the UK since 2019 as a diabetes treatment under the brand name Ozempic, but doctors can now prescribe it “off label” only as a weight loss aid. In March, NICE approved the product for obese people who want to slim down, but it has since run out of stock.
The biggest problem is that Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk is struggling to meet the “unprecedented demand”. This is, at least in part, thanks to dramatic body transformation stories circulating on social media.
Kim Kardashian was rumored to have used it to match Marilyn Monroe’s dress at a red carpet event last May, and Twitter head Elon Musk, 51, weighed in at 30 pounds. ) nearly reduced and ripped and healthy thanks to Ozempic who claimed to be “healthier”.
The resulting influx of dieters trying to get their hands on the drug has left diabetics deprived of vital treatment.
In July, the MHRA issued a warning banning physicians from prescribing semaglutide to anyone other than people with type 2 diabetes who were already taking semaglutide. However, the newspaper found that online pharmacies are still willing to sell jabs solely for weight loss.
Novo Nordisk acknowledged last month that the inventory problem is unlikely to be resolved until mid-2024.
Tirzepatide combines a GLP-1 receptor agonist (a class of drugs that includes semaglutide) with another compound known as a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist that also stimulates insulin production. It is the first of a new class of drugs.
Dr. Spencer Nadolski, medical director of Michigan-based obesity specialist Weight Watchers and its U.S.-only digital health platform Sequence, said last year that the treatment was approved by the U.S. regulator, the Food and Drug Administration. has been prescribing this treatment for diabetics since its approval. “This is the most powerful drug of its kind,” he said. As a result, glycemic control is improved and patients lose weight, feel better and are happier.
“People say it quiets down the noise of food that expresses constant thoughts about food. It really improves quality of life.”
“At the moment, it is only available for diabetics, but patients find out about it on social media and come asking for it, which is a big part of why these treatments are so popular. If people can’t get it, for example, if their insurance company won’t fund it, I see them going online and buying fakes, and that’s a big concern.”
Later this year, Weight Watchers UK will launch a nutritional support program for patients taking new weight loss medications. Dr. Nadolski added, “If patients are not closely monitored, they may find that they do not want to eat and lose too much weight.”
“We offer a comprehensive diet and exercise program to minimize muscle loss and ensure proper nutrition.”
Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and emeritus consultant who was involved in the UK trial, said the lack of long-term patient data may be one of the reasons NICE is reluctant to approve it for use in the NHS. Ta.
He said: ‘no doubt’ [tirzepatide] Studies have shown that although it is better than semaglutide in controlling blood sugar levels and helping patients lose weight, semaglutide does more. When taken long enough, it reduces fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and strokes.
“That’s why NICE decided it would be cost-effective to prescribe this drug widely.”
“It remains to be seen whether tirzepatide, which does the same thing but uses a slightly different chemical route, would have the same ramifications.
Semaglutide and tirzepatide are priced between approximately $1,000 to $1,500 (£793 to £1,190) in the US for a month’s supply of four pens. The NHS is paying significantly less for semaglutide, around £73 a month. Semaglutide is available for individual purchase in the UK from £175.
It is not yet known how much the NHS is willing to pay for tirzepatide, but Kaushik, a cardiologist and professor of public health at Imperial College London who is currently participating in three trials looking at the drug’s possible heart benefits. Mr Ray said:Drugs give us something we’ve never had before – drugs that are just as effective as anti-obesity drugs [weight-loss] surgery. That’s how effective it is.
“Tackling diabetes and obesity is a government priority, so we are fairly confident that NICE will approve it soon and make it available by the end of the year.”
“But it is likely that there will be restrictions. If the results are good, [a GLP-1 receptor agonist, such as semaglutide] Then I would use it. If this doesn’t get the patient where they need to be, tirzepatide might be a good idea. “
“There are treatments to control cholesterol and blood pressure, but whether patients take them is another matter,” he added.
“The big difference here is that people can see the effects of this drug in the mirror. Clothes fit better and self-esteem increases.”
“That’s why there’s such a demand. And even more powerful and effective drugs are in development.”
Dr. Strain agreed, “We need to focus on prevention as well as treatment.”
“Once you start taking these drugs, you never know if you can stop them.
“However, the next decade will see major changes in the management of diabetes and obesity. These drugs may be as widely prescribed as statins.”
