After more than two years on the Food and Drug Administration's shortage list, diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are now considered available, The Hill reported Wednesday.
Although the drugs are still on the FDA's shortage list, they're no longer listed as "currently in shortage." Denmark-based Novo Nordisk makes both medications, which contain semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist.
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told The Hill, "This update is a result of our significant investment in capacity and ongoing communication with the FDA. Our intentional approach to gradually increase supply into the U.S. market is working."
But the company said that although the medication is technically available, patients might still experience delays in getting prescriptions filled because of variable stock levels at some pharmacies.
The FDA said it is still "currently working to determine whether the demand or projected demand for semaglutide within the United States exceeds the available supply. Although all dosages of a drug may currently be listed as available, the criteria for moving a drug off the Drug Shortages list must still be met."
The update comes less than a month after Mounjaro and Zepbound, both forms of another GLP-1 agonist known as tirzepatide, were declared no longer in shortage after two years.
That news sparked a dispute among compounding pharmacies, which aren't allowed to sell unbranded copies of tirzepatide if it's not in shortage. However, the FDA has said it might reconsider its stance, fueling speculation it will no longer allow compounding pharmacies to make semaglutide now that it's no longer in shortage.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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