Introduces strict restrictions on the use of the diabetes and slimming medicine Ozempic – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country

From today, pharmacies in Norway are not allowed to sell Ozempic to people who use the diabetes medication to lose weight. The Directorate for Medical Products reports this in a press release. The purpose is to ensure that available packs are delivered to diabetes patients with a blue prescription, they write. At the same time, it has been decided that diabetes patients with a blue prescription will only be given Ozempic for four weeks at a time. Use has exploded The use of the medicine Ozempic has exploded in the past year. Although the medicine is made for those with diabetes 2, many people have started using it to lose weight. Consumption has been so high that pharmacies have run out, and Norway has bought in expensive medicines from abroad. In total, it has cost the community NOK 1.2 billion so far this year, new figures from the Directorate for Medical Products (DMP) show. That is almost as much as the entire fjord year combined. Must ration Last week, the Storting approved a law that opens the door to rationing medicines that are in critical shortage in Norway. Among other things, it was known that doctors could no longer issue blue prescriptions for only Ozempic for diabetes patients. If you are to have the medicine, you must also take other medicine, such as insulin. The law comes into force from today. But last week DMP did not want to say anything about the sale of Ozempic in general. Because doctors can write a blank prescription for the drug, among other things for people who use it to lose weight. A white prescription means that the patient pays for the medicine entirely himself. According to the Association of Pharmacists, 40,000 anti-obesity packages have been sold over the counter so far this year. Reaching out to those with diabetes Today, there are around 60,000 people who use Ozempic for type 2 diabetes in Norway. But it is also known that someone has received it on a blue prescription for dieting. That is not the law, and that is what the authorities want to stop now. This applies to diabetes patients, says Ingvild Eilertsen, communications manager at the Diabetes Association. – We are already receiving feedback from diabetes patients in this regard. Among them, many are distraught that they now have to stop treatment and stop taking a medicine that they are prescribing, she says. The very popular medicine Ozempic is basically a medicine developed against diabetes 2. Since it also reduces appetite, it makes it easier for people to lose weight. The medicine is produced by the Danish company Novo Nordisk, which has experienced extreme growth in recent years due to its “slimming medicines”. news has previously written about the government’s desire to prevent patients without diabetes from receiving diabetes medicines with a slimming effect on blue prescriptions. Published 01.07.2024, at 07.59 Updated 01.07.2024, at 08.08



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