Dubbed a miracle drug: Authorities will limit subsidies for the diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic due to its high price.
The diabetes drug “Ozempic” from the Danish company Novo Nordisk is called the miracle drug for its ability to treat type 2 diabetes. This drug is given in the form of an injection once a week and effectively regulates blood sugar levels, greatly helps in weight loss, and prevents serious diseases that can be caused by obesity and diabetes.
In a short time since the treatment was launched several years ago, it has become incredibly popular, causing the state treasury to spend millions of kronor when disbursing it to eligible patients.
The cost is high for the state treasury.
A one-month supply of Ozempic for use as a treatment for diabetes costs 1,300 Danish kroner, and public sector subsidies cover almost the entire bill.
Last year, the regions spent a total of 580 million Danish kroner on support for nearly 80,000 citizens who received Ozempic. This alone is equivalent to 10% of the regions' total spending on medical subsidies. For this reason, the Authority for Pharmaceutical Therapies (IRF), a department of the Danish Health Authority, believes that the consumption of Ozempic should be “significantly reduced,” and that in the future, far fewer people will be treated, according to a press release on TV2.
Although the active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, which is the same substance found in the weight loss drug Wegovy, the difference between the two is – aside from the amount of semaglutide – that Ozempic is approved as a diabetes drug, while Wegovy is approved for weight loss.
In 2022, approximately 32,000 people were treated with Ozempic, and around 25,000 of them received support.
The majority of patients prefer Ozempic
Around a quarter of the patients who received support for Ozempic had never received any form of diabetes medication before, and 56% of them had skipped several treatment steps, according to the Danish Health Authority. This means that Ozempic was prescribed to a very large number of patients without first trying “cheaper and equivalent alternatives.”.
Studies indicate that the average patient loses 5 to 6 kilograms with Ozempic, and some patients have lost a lot of weight with Ozempic, while with other similar drugs such as SGLT-2 inhibitors, the patient loses 2 to 3 kilograms.
Under the current rules, Ozempic support can be obtained if the patient has type 2 diabetes and has not achieved satisfactory results with other types of diabetes medications, but there is also a clause stating that if the doctor finds it inappropriate to try other medications, support can still be obtained.
“Doctors bear responsibility for the explosion in Ozempic consumption.”
According to the source, Pernille Herman, president of the Danish Society of Endocrinology, acknowledges that diabetes doctors bear some responsibility for the fact that Ozempic consumption has exploded and agrees that there is a need to tighten support standards, saying that consumption is largely driven by patients' desire.
It is worth noting that the Danish Medicines Agency decides whether or not to provide support for medicines, and they are currently assessing whether the support criteria for the drug Ozempic should be changed. .
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