Health Ministry bars sale of Ozempic as weight-loss drug
The Health Ministry has instructed pharmacists to stop selling Ozempic as a weightloss treatment and to return it to its original prescribed use as a diabetes medication.
Those who have been using Ozempic injections for weight loss have been advised to gradually transition to Wegovy, an alternative drug.
The frenzy over Ozempic in Israel began a little over two years ago, following a US study. Research showed a more than 20% body weight reduction when administering the drug.
The weekly dose that led to this weight loss was 2.4 milligrams. Initially, only Ozempic was approved in Israel, available in a 1 mg. dose, and intended solely for diabetic patients to manage blood glucose levels. However, it also led to a sense of fullness and a weight loss of approximately 14% of individuals’ overall body weight, according to patient reports.
Since then, there has been a rush for Ozempic. Severely overweight Israelis received special authorization to use Ozempic, though they were not diabetic, leading to a nearly year-long depletion of Ozempic stocks and a severe shortage for the diabetic patients it was meant for.
As reported by Maariv, the
Health Ministry approved Wegovy, a medication specifically designated for weight loss, to be marketed in Israel last June, and the drug arrived in Israel about two weeks ago, available by special order in most pharmacies.
Upon prescription, the drug typically arrives in its appropriate dosage form within a few days. Consequently, the Health Ministry has decided against further exceptional use of Ozempic for weight loss on Wednesday and has instructed pharmacists not to sell the drug any longer. Those with an existing authorization for Ozempic can continue to receive it until their authorization expires – usually after six months.
Further, if new patients suffering from obesity are interested in Wegovy injections, they will not need a prescription to undergo the treatment.
The new directive issued by Eli Marom, deputy director of the pharmacy division at Israel’s Health Ministry, states that, following Section 47A of the Pharmacy Ordinance, which stipulates that medical treatments must be registered, patients who are taking Ozempic should consult with their physician so that they can switch to a registered medication. For patients who still have an active, open form 29C online that allows them to use Ozempic, they can continue their treatment until the end of the approval period to avoid disrupting the treatment’s continuity.
Under the new guidelines, those who have not yet received weight loss injections will start Wegovy at an initial dose of 0.25 mg., gradually increasing the dose in a month or two until reaching the final dose of 2.4 mg. once a week.
According to medical literature, discontinuation of treatment typically leads to regaining weight, suggesting that the injection might need to be taken for life. The cost of the injection at the initial dose is NIS 600 per month, and at the final dose of 2.4 milligrams, it reaches NIS 1,200 per month.