Patients with type 2 diabetes are being left waiting months for vital drugs as the jabs they need are snapped up privately by those hoping to lose weight.
There is such demand for the GLP-1 injections that it has created a global shortage prompting a UK ban on the medication – including the much talked about Ozempic – being prescribed to treat obesity.
But that ban hasn’t helped patients like Stu Innes from Ipswich, who’s been waiting since the start of the year for his medicine, Trulicity, to come back in stock.
“I was angry. It shouldn’t be the case really,” Mr Innes said.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people out there taking the same drug as me for diabetes and we’re going to have to wait until the end of the year to get this.”
He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes six years ago and has been on Trulicity for much of that time, helping keep his blood glucose levels stable.
But a test at the doctors has shown they have begun creeping up already.
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In east London, community pharmacist Kashem Rayhan has seen the drugs come back in stock only to be instantly snapped up by other pharmacies.
“It’s just madness because when the doctors prescribe it, they don’t know if it’s available or not,” he said.
“They just send the patient over to us. Then we have to tell the patient that it’s not available. The patient has to go back. That creates more workload for us and for the GP.”
They managed to get hold of some Ozempic recently but are having to ration it and can’t source the most frequently prescribed dose of Trulicity at all.
Last summer, a National Patient Safety Alert was issued by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, making it clear the drugs should be reserved for diabetics while the shortage continues.
The problem is people are snapping up the wonder weight loss jabs online – sometimes from illegal sites or having them prescribed privately.
There are even reports of them being sold in beauty salons. And that brings with it potential danger.
‘Illegally profiting’ from people’s health
As head of care at Diabetes UK, Douglas Twenefour has significant concerns about exactly what people are getting hold of.
“These medications come with side effects so it’s important that people get it from the right sources,” he said.
“You don’t know the doses with which these medications are coming.
“For those who are doing the selling, they’re probably breaking the law and it’s important that those are found and stopped because they are illegally profiting from people’s health conditions, which is not right.”
In January, that alert was updated – indicating the shortage is likely to continue to at least the end of the year.
The only GLP-1 drug licensed purely for weight loss in the UK is Wegovy, while the others are approved just to control diabetics’ blood sugar and not for weight loss.
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What the manufacturers say
The makers of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, say they have invested in production with the jabs being made around the clock.
In a statement, they said: “We do not condone, suggest, or encourage misuse of any of our medicines outside of their approved indications.
“We will continue to proactively advocate for the highest levels of safeguarding and encourage healthcare professionals to adopt the most stringent approach, in both identifying patients and ensuring appropriate prescribing of our medicines.”
Trulicity’s manufacturers Lilly say their priority remains “doing everything possible to meet the needs of existing Trulicity patients”.
“Medicines should only be prescribed for patients within their authorised indication and Trulicity is not authorised for weight loss,” continued the statement.
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After a medical review, Stu was put on a waiting list for an alternative jab to take alongside his tablets.
There’s no sign of that either and so he enters a third month without the drugs he needs.
