People Are Overdosing On Ozempic and Its Off-Brand Versions

Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss have been so wildly in demand that the drugs boosted the GDP of maker Novo Nordisk’s home country of Denmark and threatened fast food demand. 

It’s so popular that it went into shortage in 2022, pushing pharmacies to create compounded versions of the active ingredient semaglutide. And now, poison control centers across the United States are reporting a surge in accidental semaglutide overdoses.

The compounded version of the drug, many of which contain semaglutide salts called semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate, are most of the time different from Novo Nordisk’s patented versions. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approved semaglutide in 2017, warns that the compounded versions of the drug, unlike the patented versions, have not been tested and are not approved to be safe and effective. 

The FDA clarifies that the salt forms of the drug don’t qualify for the compounding exemption in times of shortages. There are also cases where these versions are sold in unapproved doses, according to a CNN report.

From January through November, America’s Poison Centers documented nearly 3,000 calls related to semaglutide, marking a more than 15-fold increase since 2019. In 94% of these cases, semaglutide was the sole reported substance. Dosing errors, including accidental double doses or incorrect dosages, were frequently cited as the cause.

The FDA has reportedly sent warnings to two online sellers to stop selling compounded semaglutide, while Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk has filed suits against spas and clinics selling knock-off versions of the medication.

People are turning to the compounded or knock-off versions even as the patented versions are available as they are cheaper, especially if the use of the drug isn’t covered by insurance. The FDA warned against this in June, citing reports of adverse events after taking compounded semaglutide.

Another issue is making dosage errors. The drug is a once-weekly injectible that patients self-administer. The patented versions, Ozempic and Wegovy come in safer, pre-filled pens, making it harder (but not impossible) to make mistakes in the dosage. But with compounded versions, which typically come in multi-dose vials that patients need to draw into a syringe, it’s easier to make errors. 

Symptoms of overdose include nausea and vomiting. The Missouri Poison Center warns people to watch for signs of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, which can lead to emergency situations. There are also no antidotes for semaglutide, and so the best hospitals and facilities can do is flush it out of the system.

Information for this story was found via CNN, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

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