The use of the medicine Ozempic has exploded in the past year. Many people use the diabetes medicine for slimming. Consumption has been so high that Norway has bought in expensive medicines from abroad to saturate the market. On Tuesday this week, the Storting approved a law that allows for the rationing of medicines that are in critical shortage in Norway. The law comes into force from Monday. – Losing access to the treatment that works best More people with type 2 diabetes today receive Ozempic on a blue prescription. From Monday, it will not be possible for doctors to prescribe only Ozempic to someone on a blue prescription. Then it must be combined with other diabetes medicines, insulin for example, the Directorate for Medical Products (DMP) informs news. This also applies to the “sister medicine” Rybelsus. – This will mean that many patients with type 2 diabetes will no longer have access to the treatment that works best for them, says Ingvild Eilertsen, communications officer at the Diabetes Association. Those who have prescriptions for this can use them until September – then it stops completely. But no new ones are printed. That’s what Helfo writes on its website. Complete confusion about what will happen next week Medicines on a blue prescription are medicines that the state pays in whole or in part. With a so-called “white prescription” from the doctor, the patient usually has to pay for the medicine himself. Both the Diabetes Association and the Apotekerforeningen tell news that they have received signals that it will not be allowed to buy the medicine Ozempic, which is used for both diabetes and obesity, on a white prescription from next week. – We have received signals that they will not have access to Ozempic from Monday, says professional director of the Apotekforeningen Hanne Andresen to news. Andresen says the communication around this has been very unclear and that pharmacy employees do not know which rules apply already from Monday. – It goes without saying that the pharmacy staff are put in a very difficult situation now, she also says, in addition to describing the possible changes as “major”. The Diabetes Association says that they experience the situation around this as chaotic. Hanne Andresen, professional director of the Association of Pharmacists. Photo: Kubrix / Apotekforeningen Will avoid hoarding Chief physician at DMP (formerly known as the Norwegian Medicines Agency), Sigurd Hortemo, says there are “many things happening when it comes to Ozempic now”. He says that any decisions will be notified at the same time they are implemented. – We have recently received the authority to introduce rationing. I think many people understand that this is not the type of decision you want to give advance notice. The political treatment showed that this is a measure that should be used soberly and only when necessary to prevent medicine shortages, says Hortemo. DMP will therefore not comment on whether Ozempic will be unavailable on white prescription from Monday. – One of the things we do not want to experience is hoarding. This type of decision will be communicated when they are implemented to avoid hoarding, says Hortemo. The Directorate also states that they are considering selling Ozempic which has already been imported from abroad, which is now in stock – to actors abroad. Senior doctor Sigurd Hortemo in DMP. Photo: Caroline Roka / Photographer Caroline Roka Very popular medicine Ozempic is basically a medicine developed for 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”. Novo Nordisk also produces Wegovy, which has the same active ingredient as Ozempic, but in a different dose. And Rybelsus – which comes in tablet form. 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. Over 60,000 Norwegians received these medicines on a blue prescription last year. It cost the state close to NOK 1.4 billion. According to Dag og Tid, Novo Nordisk is now the most valuable company in Europe measured in terms of stock market value. It’s worth more than Disney, Nike and Starbucks combined. Last year, Novo Nordisk had a net profit of NOK 127 billion, up 51 percent from the previous year, the newspaper writes. – Challenging situations can arise Hanne Andresen from the Association of Pharmacists tells news that they have been clear to the authorities that responsibility must be taken for organized information for all patient groups and for all types of users of these medicines. – We will do our best to pass on information and comply with any changes that may come. But demanding situations can arise on Monday, says Andresen to news. She misses dialogue about this with the authorities in the past. One solution would have been, among other things, that those who have taken Ozempic on a blue prescription can switch to Wegovy. And that the pharmacies can arrange this. – But pharmacies are not allowed to switch Ozempic and Wegovy, as the regulations are now. So we then have to refer these back to the GP, who has to make an assessment, but in most cases they will prescribe Wegovy, says Andresen. Published 28.06.2024, at 17.41
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Uncertainty about the availability of “diet for weight loss” from Monday
