Doctors must keep Ozempic prescriptions in check

Doctors in Denmark should limit how many packs of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic diabetes drug patients can pick up at one time, the Danish Patient Safety Authority said on Monday, amid worries that some may acquire a larger supply than needed.

Neighbouring Norway meanwhile said it would tighten restrictions on the use of Ozempic, requiring doctors to seek cost reimbursements on behalf of each individual patient rather than an automatic coverage for all users.

Demand for the diabetes treatment has spiked as some people take it for weight loss since it contains the same active ingredient as Novo’s popular Wegovy obesity drug, semaglutide.

Both Novo and U.S. rival Eli Lilly have struggled to keep up with rampant demand for their weight loss and related diabetes medicines as a result of the drugs’ popularity.

The Danish authority encouraged doctors to be mindful that some patients may accumulate more Ozempic than would be expected for normal use, possibly to resell excess supplies.

“In the cases we have reviewed, Ozempic has been prescribed for the relevant indication in accordance with the recommendations of the Danish Health Authority,” the Patient Safety Authority said.

“However, the prescribing physicians have not always been sufficiently aware that the drug could be of interest to others than the patient,” it added.

Denmark encourages doctors to specify the amount of Ozempic that patients could pick up at the pharmacy at any one time on each prescription, and how often they could do so within a given time frame, the agency said.

In Norway, individual refund applications would become mandatory from July 1, the Norwegian Medical Products Agency said in a statement.

“This is one of several measures to provide better access to the medicine for the patients who need it most,” it added.

The Danish Medicines Agency in May ordered doctors, as of November, to prescribe cheaper drugs to patients suffering from type 2 diabetes before prescribing Ozempic and similar GLP-1 counterparts, in an attempt to cope with soaring demand.