Despite being designed for those living with diabetes, the medication 'Ozempic' has developed a reputation for being a weight loss wonder drug, and its sudden popularity means the medication is now in short supply across the world. The shortage has led to a growing number of Australians who are looking to lose weight to turn to off-brand and unauthorised versions of the drug.
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TVTranscript
00:00 The concern with this is because there's been a shortage, that it's now being compounded.
00:06 So they've been able to source some of the original ingredient and they're mixing it
00:12 together and that's now going out to patients. Now the problem is it hasn't gone through
00:18 the robust and rigorous checks and balances that we have in Australia. So we actually
00:23 don't know if it works, how it works and what are the potential side effects and risks to
00:29 people who are taking this medication. This is a drug that is very heavily marketed and
00:34 coming into the new year where people are trying to make changes, there's a huge demand
00:40 and that's the concern. We know that in the United States and through the FDA and also
00:44 in Australia with our regulators, that they have urged real concern about people taking
00:51 these medications that are being compounded outside the normal regulatory framework. So
00:57 people need to really ask the questions. Where has this medication come from? Is this safe
01:02 for me? Am I going to have any side effects? And the other problem is we don't know how
01:07 much it's costing people either. And we have to remember that for long term health, weight
01:14 management, it's the small things that we do over time.
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