People who are using anti-obesity medication for cosmetic weight loss are driving a global shortage of the drugs, leading health experts have suggested.
Medics warned that the shortages could lead to "serious consequences,” with continued high demand potentially leading to fake versions of the drugs.
They have now called on industry, regulators, clinicians, patients and the public to "step up actions now” to resolve the issue.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists are a family of medications that help manage blood sugar and include the Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda.
There have been global shortages of some of the drugs since 2022, with reports that people who are not obese or overweight are using them to lose weight.
Continued high demand has also increased the risk of fake products entering the market, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) suggests, leading to "serious consequences” for public health.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a medical product alert on falsified semaglutides, specifically the brand Ozempic.
It said three batches of the fake drug had been detected in Brazil and the U.K. in October and in the U.S. in December.
The EMA and the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) outlined a number of measures to help tackle shortages across the European Union.
The EMA and HMA, through the Executive Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG), have advised EU member states to consider measures to control and optimize the distribution of the drugs and create guidelines that highlight patients that should be a priority for the medication.
The MSSG also urged market authorization holders to boost the drug's manufacturing capacity.
Emer Cooke, executive director of the EMA, said: "We need to step up actions now – industry, regulators, health care professionals, patients and the public at large all have a role to play in resolving these shortages and we are appealing to everyone to play their part.”
In England, liraglutide (Saxenda) and semaglutide (Wegovy) are recommended as an option for obese people to lose weight.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also recommended tirzepatide – sold under the brand name Mounjaro – for NHS use earlier this month.
Nick Kaye, chairperson of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "A national patient safety alert was already issued by the MHRA last year and it is likely that this further announcement from the EMA will put tougher controls on the distribution of this drug in the U.K.
"Pharmacists are often forced to turn patients away due to being unable to get hold of medication of many different kinds.
"It’s clear that these growing medicine shortages are heaping pressure on our already stretched local community pharmacy teams.
"Pharmacies want to make sure that those who are in most need of legitimate treatment are prioritised and we are pleased that manufacturing distribution has been recommended to be scaled up.
"We need all politicians to commit to tackling medicine shortages as a matter of urgency and deliver a new funding deal that properly supports pharmacy to pay for the medicines our patients need.”
Doctors also voiced concerns about people buying weight loss drugs without proper "wraparound” care.
Speaking at the British Medical Association’s annual representative meeting in Belfast, David Strain, a professor of cardiometabolic health, said: "In all of the trials for weight loss drugs, every single one of them, it was drug plus lifestyle intervention and dietary advice and the worry is that if you just buy these drugs off the internet without that wraparound, without that support, you end up jabbing yourself and we don’t know the health benefits will be the same in those settings.”
