The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Novo Nordisk鈥檚 weekly injection is approved for weight loss among patients diagnosed with obesity.
Wegovy can also be prescribed to patients who are significantly overweight and have 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.
He says it鈥檚 not intended for 鈥渃osmetic鈥� use.
Wegovy contains the same medication 鈥� semaglutide 鈥� as the diabetes drug Ozempic but at a higher dose.
鈥�(Wegovy) adds to the tool box and the tool kit for all clinicians who are seeing many patients living with obesity,鈥� said Sockalingam, who is the scientific director for Obesity Canada, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with obesity.
It鈥檚 meant to be used in tandem 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 鈥渄emonstrated a statistically significantly greater amount of weight loss in semaglutide-treated (patients) as compared to placebo-treated subjects,鈥� according to the federal government鈥檚 website.
Doctors can prescribe it for patients with obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kilograms per square metre or greater.
They can also prescribe Wegovy to patients who are overweight with a BMI of 27 kilograms per square metre 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 arrives after extensive marketing of Ozempic and a social media-driven surge in demand for off-label use of that drug for weight loss. Experts say it鈥檚 critical that prescribers, including family doctors, ensure Wegovy is only given to patients who meet specific criteria.
鈥淧hysicians are ultimately the gatekeepers of this, and hopefully there will be responsible prescribing for the medication,鈥� said Dr. Ehud Ur, an endocrinologist in Vancouver.
Sockalingam stressed that when it comes to prescribing Wegovy, 鈥渨e want to make sure we鈥檙e very precise, that we鈥檙e not talking about 鈥� cosmetic or physical appearance.鈥�
鈥淭his is a medical treatment for a medical condition.鈥�
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