Health official in Austria are the latest to warn the public to rest away from sketchy sources of semaglutide , the active fixings in popular weight red drug Wegovy and Ozempic , keep an eye on recent composition of severe untoward effects connect to imitative product . house physician have reportedly been hospitalized with hazardously low-spirited blood sugar and seizures after taking these drug , which may have actually contained insulin .
The Federal Office for the Safety in Health Care ( BASG ) in Austriaissuedits first warning about counterfeit Ozempic in mid - October , after officials seize some supplies of it . At the meter , the authority was n’t sure whether these products were in reality being sold in the country , rather than being intended for distribution elsewhere in the European Union . The BASG hassince updatedits warn to confirm that residents are indeed taking these medicinal drug , and that some seem to have earnestly suffer as a answer .
According to the BASG , there have been several initial reports of multitude being hospitalized after taking suspected counterfeit Ozempic . The most grave adverse effects documented in these hospitalisation have been hypoglycaemia and seizures , leading officials to speculate that some of these products are being fill with insulin rather than semaglutide . Both symptoms areknown and potentially life - threatening complicationsof an insulin overdose .
An example of the counterfeit Ozempic seized by Austrian health officials underneath genuine Ozempic. Both Ozempic and Wegovy are taken via injection pens.Image: Federal Office for the Safety in Health Care (BASG)
“ In this case , the pre - satisfy pen probably number from a source other than a pharmacy , ” the BASG write in its warning . “ consort to the current state of probe , stocks of the affected batch may still be in circulation or may have been obtained by other physicians via this illegal duct . ”
Semaglutide and exchangeable drug are semisynthetic versions of hormones that help regulate our thirstiness and metabolic process . This drug class has been used for more than a decade to facilitate manage line of descent sugar in the great unwashed with character 2 diabetes , but more recently , some of them have been adapted into treatments for fleshiness — treatments that have beengenuinely much more effectivethan past obesity drugs .
These drug have appeared to be generally safe and tolerable as well so far , though people will normally receive GI symptoms like sickness and disgorgement while taking them . late research on semaglutide in special has also found that it may help reduce the risk of futureheartandkidneydisease among obese patients vulnerable to these conditions . But the data on their foresightful - terminal figure safety when used for fleshiness is still being gathered , which is important since it ’s expected that many patients will need to take them for sprightliness to wield their weight loss .
There have also been other consequences of their emergence . Only Wegovy is O.K. in the U.S. and other countries for treating obesity , but Doctor have also start to dictate Ozempic off - label for fleshiness as well . The speedy popularity of semaglutide and unexpected production problems has guide toongoing shortagesof both drugs , which has impacted the concern of diabetes patients who take Ozempic for its approved exercise . And a similar berth is happening with Eli Lilly ’s Mounjaro , currently only approved for type 2 diabetes .
These dearth , match with high list prices for these drug ( Wegovy can cost over $ 1,000 a calendar month without indemnity coverage , which often is n’t granted ) , have made counterfeit andcompounded versionsof these drugs a more likeable option for some patient — an option that doubtless fall with sound and wellness risk .
“ The BASG would like to sharpen out that Ozempic is a prescription medicine - only medicative Cartesian product . It is therefore not potential to consecrate it on the net , where only over - the - parry medication can legally be obtain , ” the BASG note in its latest word of advice . “ Any club for Ozempic on the internet is therefore not only unlawful and illegal , but also convey a very high probability of prevail a imitative Ozempic Cartesian product . ”
“ These forgery can be hazardous to health and potentially sprightliness - threatening due to untested calibre and potential impurity and strange ingredients , ” the agency added .
DiabetesEli LillyInsulinMedicationPeptide hormonesSemaglutide
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