Diabetes Drugs Used as Slimming Aids, EMA’s Warning: “It Must Stop”
In the last two years there has been a lot of talk about diabetes drugs that are used for slimming purposes. In fact, there are many cases of celebrities like Elon Musk who have lost weight using medicines such as Semaglutide. In this regard, Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), complains about the scarcity of drugs such as Ozempic, Saxenda, Trulicity and Victoza and “we can ignore that there is also an increase in off-label use by people who do not suffer from diabetes or obesity and who see Glp-1 agonists as a possible miracle drug for weight loss.”
Off-label use, Cooke stresses, “has to stop.” “As a medicines regulator,” he continues, “we have a role to play in managing shortages and that is why we have provided recommendations at a European level for all stakeholders to ensure that we conserve these medicines for those who need them most.”
“The constantly high demand” for drugs against diabetes but used as slimming drugs, added the EMA, “has also attracted criminal activity, increasing the risk of falsified products entering the market with serious consequences for public health”. “The EMA and the network of EU regulatory bodies – we read in a note – are closely monitoring the situation and taking various actions from 2022”.
