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This photo taken on October 23, 2023, shows a medicine box of the injectable diabetes drug Ozempic in a pharmacy in Riedisheim, eastern France. — Photo: Sébastien Bozon/Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — Since switching to a “healthier lifestyle” this month, Marky, a 33-year-old public school teacher, has noticed a flurry of ads promising to help her lose weight “safely and quickly.”
One of the ads he found on social media was for “selling a drug that contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic,” a brand name used in some countries to treat diabetes and obesity. The drug has become popular among people looking to lose weight and has been facing a global shortage since 2022, including in the Philippines.
read: My life with Ozempic, the so-called “miracle weight loss drug”
According to the advertisement, those who take advantage of the offer, which costs a one-time payment of P7,800, will be injected with the drug once a week for six weeks, subject to approval by a doctor who can be consulted online. Once approved, the drug will be delivered to the patient’s home through a “free and confidential” service.
“Although it was tempting, I didn’t do it because I wanted the weight loss process to be natural,” Markey told the Inquirer on Sunday.
In an alert on June 19, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned about counterfeit stocks of Ozempic (generic name: semaglutide).
read: Risking one’s life for vanity
Multinational company Novo Nordisk confirmed that three batches of the popular drug were “not manufactured by the company and therefore misrepresent their identity and origin.”
‘Serious risks’
According to the company, batch number LP6F832 is unrecognized, and the combination of batch number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057 does not match any genuine manufacturing records. A third batch with number MP5E511 is genuine, but the products are counterfeit.
“The use of counterfeit Ozempic may result in ineffective treatment for patients due to incorrect dosages, contamination with harmful substances or the use of unknown or substituted ingredients,” the WHO said. “Administration by subcutaneous injection can be life-threatening and may pose other serious risks to health.”
In the Philippines, Ozempic has been registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2020, but diabetes patients have complained of shortages, forcing some to turn to the black market.
A single dose of Ozempic sells for 7,650 pesos at major drugstore chains, but the price can be higher in online stores and unregulated marketplaces on social media.
Meanwhile, a 500mg tablet of metformin, the first-line drug for treating type 2 diabetes, sells for less than 4 pesos.
FDA spokeswoman Pamela Sevilla previously said Novo Nordisk notified the agency in 2022 that there was a global shortage of the drug due to “unanticipated increased demand due to off-label prescribing” for weight loss.
Off-label prescribing occurs when a drug is prescribed to treat a condition other than that for which it has been approved by the FDA. This is both legal and normal practice, especially when treating rare diseases or conditions.
“However, if a physician prescribes Ozempic for a health condition other than diabetes based on their clinical judgment, the FDA does not have the authority to regulate that decision,” Sevilla said.
The FDA instead asked its parent agencies, the Department of Health and the Philippine Medical Association, to regulate how doctors prescribe Ozempic for off-label uses.
