Ozempic makers say weight loss drug Wegovy will be available in Canada on May 6

The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.

Novo Nordisk Weekly Injection is approved for weight loss among patients diagnosed with obesity.

Wegovy may also be prescribed to patients who are significantly overweight and at least one related medical condition, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or obstructive sleep apnea.

Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam of Obesity Canada says obesity is a serious medical condition and Wegovy is an important treatment option.

It says it is not intended for “cosmetic” use.

Wegovy contains the same medicine, semaglutide, as the diabetes medicine Ozempic, but in a higher dose.

“(Wegovy) adds to the toolbox and toolkit for all clinicians who care for many patients living with obesity,” said Sockalingam, chief scientific officer of Obesity Canada, an organization dedicated to improving people’s lives. who live with obesity. .

It is intended to be used in conjunction with physical activity and nutrition, he said.

Obesity Canada will update its medication guidelines to include Wegovy, Sockalingam said.

Health Canada approved Wegovy in November 2021 based on studies that “demonstrated statistically significantly greater weight loss in (patients) treated with semaglutide compared to subjects treated with placebo,” according to the federal government website.

Doctors can prescribe it to patients with obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kilograms per square meter or more.

They may also prescribe Wegovy to overweight patients with a BMI of 27 kilograms per square meter if they also have at least one weight-related medical condition. That could include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia (an imbalance of lipids such as cholesterol or triglycerides), and obstructive sleep apnea.

Wegovy comes after extensive marketing of Ozempic and a surge in demand for off-label use of that weight-loss drug fueled by social media. Experts say it is critical that prescribers, including family doctors, ensure that Wegovy is only given to patients who meet specific criteria.

“Doctors are ultimately the gatekeepers of this and hopefully there will be responsible prescribing of medications,” said Dr. Ehud Ur, a Vancouver endocrinologist.

Sockalingam emphasized that when it comes to prescribing Wegovy, “we want to make sure that we’re very precise, that we’re not talking about…cosmetic or physical appearance.”

“This is a medical treatment for a medical condition.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2024.

The Canadian Press health coverage is supported through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.