Ozempic is one of the most talked-about drugs on the internet, but its soaring popularity has left many people with type 2 diabetes struggling to access it. In the Northern Territory, where diabetes rates are among the highest in the country, medical experts warn that the inconsistent supply of Ozempic is having a significant impact.
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00:00For Cheryl Hogg and husband Ian, getting their hands on this small device is no easy task.
00:09Sometimes it's like a lotto. You either win it or you don't.
00:13The couple have both been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and have prescriptions for Ozempic.
00:19But finding a chemist in Darwin that stocks it is becoming increasingly difficult.
00:25They'd say, oh this one's got it, so you go there. And I'd say, oh no, we haven't got it.
00:29But they'd look on the computer, oh this one's got it, so we go there.
00:32So it was just a chase up and in the end I just stopped.
00:38Ozempic is a brand of the medicine Semaglutide, which is supplied by a Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk.
00:45Australia's pharmaceutical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration,
00:50has only approved Ozempic to treat adults with type 2 diabetes.
00:54But it's not illegal for doctors to prescribe Ozempic for other health conditions, including weight management.
01:01The manufacturers just can't seem to keep up and of course the logistics and the worldwide market
01:07has meant that it really does go out much faster than it comes in.
01:13In the Northern Territory, challenges associated with distance are making supply an even greater challenge.
01:20We don't quite have as rapid access to the medication and that just compounds the supply problem.
01:28Ozempic is one of more than 400 medicines in short supply across the country.
01:34The Pharmacy Guild is urging the government to re-establish the Medication Shortage Working Party,
01:39stood up during the COVID-19 pandemic, to predict future demand.
01:44We need to be forward thinking and think, OK, how can we deal with shortages and predict what's coming up
01:53so that we can mitigate the effects of shortages when they happen.
01:58Shortages that are expected to continue until at least the end of this year.