Several major news outlets in Canada, including the CBC, CTVNews and the Globe and Mail have reported that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia has suspended the license of a doctor who is alleged to have given out thousands of prescriptions of Ozempic over a three month period. These prescriptions were reportedly then mailed to Americans by two British Columbia pharmacies.
According to the manufacturer’s official website, Ozempic injection 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg is an injectable prescription medicine for adults with type 2 diabetes used along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar. It also lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease.
On their website, Novo Nordisk further states that non-insulin Ozempic works with your body’s own ability to lower blood sugar and A1C. Ozempic helps your body release its own insulin. Ozempic is designed to respond when your blood sugar rises.
Ozempic works in 3 ways to lower blood sugar:
A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found a mean change in body weight from baseline to week 68 of −14.9% in the semaglutide group as compared with −2.4% with placebo, for an estimated treatment difference of −12.4 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], −13.4 to −11.5; P<0.001). The study (funded by the drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk) concluded that in participants with overweight or obesity, 2.4 mg of semaglutide once weekly plus lifestyle intervention was associated with sustained, clinically relevant reduction in body weight.
Ozempic is not officially a weight-loss drug, though many are calling it a miracle weight-loss drug. As a result of unprecedented demands for this drug for off-label usage, there has been a worldwide shortage of availability which could be concerning to diabetics who rely on this medication for their health and well-being. A recent article by Bloomberg reported that the six-month Ozempic shortage is now mostly over after weight-loss seekers had drained the supply.
While Ozempic was approved by Health Canada in 2018 for adults with type 2 diabetes to help patients manage their blood sugar levels, the medication has not been approved for weight loss in Canada or anywhere else in the world. Novo Nordisk Canada wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on February 22, 2023 stating that “Ozempic is not approved for chronic weight management.”
However, under the brand name Wegovy, Ozempic’s main active ingredient, semaglutide, was authorized by Health Canada for weight loss among those living with obesity. Wegovy is also manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
Wegovy is not currently available in Canada due to “an unprecedented demand” for the medication in the United States, according to Novo Nordisk Canada. Because of this, it is common for physicians who specialize in obesity management to prescribe Ozempic for weight loss, even though patients may not have diabetes, according to Dr. Tasneem Sajwani, medical director at the Edmonton Weight Management Centre and Family Practice, as reported by CTVNews.ca above.
It is acceptable medical practice for physicians to prescribe medications for purposes not authorized by Health Canada. This practice is known as off-label drug use. So long as the physician meets the anticipated standard of care required in prescribing the medication it will not be considered medical malpractice just because the drug manufacturer or Health Canada did not endorse the use of the medication for this specific purpose.
There are, however, a number of serious side effects associated with this drug which would have to be considered by a prescribing physician before recommending Ozempic for weight-loss. These serious side effects are outlined as follows on Novo Nordisk’s website:
The most common side effects of Ozempic may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach (abdominal) pain, and constipation.
Ozempic offers promise not only to type 2 diabetics but also to those suffering from obesity. The long-term efficacy, safety, and standard prescription practice for weight-loss only remains to be clearly established.
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