The Ozempic Shortage Is Over

The US Food and Drug Administration has determined that semaglutide is no longer in shortage, a move that will have implications for patients taking cheaper, compounded versions of the drug. Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, has been on the FDA’s shortage list since March 2022. Supply could not keep pace with fervent demand for the drug, which reached such dizzying levels of popularity that it transformed Novo Nordisk into one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market capitalization larger than the rest of the economy of its home nation of Denmark. In the intervening years, a lucrative industry of telehealth companies, medical spas, and pharmacies making and selling “compounded” copies of the medications has arisen. These off-brand copies are sold at a steep discount—sometimes under $100 a vial—compared to the name-brand medications, which can be over $1,000 a month without insurance. ... Read full article.