Whether for weight loss or diabetes management, Canadian pharmacists say demand for Ozempic prescriptions does not appear to be slowing, despite a proposed lawsuit over alleged side effects.
The lawsuit, filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia in October, claims the makers of Ozempic鈥攁 drug created to manage Type 2 diabetes, but which has gained massive popularity as a weight loss tool鈥攆ailed to adequately describe the potential side effects. Those side effects, the document states, include intense vomiting, painful gallstones and masses of food slowly forming a painful obstruction in the stomach as the result of a condition called gastroparesis.
The proposed class-action lawsuit has not yet been authorized by a judge, and its claims haven鈥檛 been tested in court.
Regardless of the concerns raised by the lawsuit, pharmacists representing national and provincial associations say demand for the drug is as high as ever 鈥 high enough to fuel ongoing supply issues.
Moreover, they say they're not surprised to see the symptoms listed in the lawsuit.
"I haven't heard that people aren't prescribing it because of the adverse effects," Dr. Barry Power, chief pharmacist officer at the Canadian Pharmacists Association, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. "It's very common for adverse effects to become known after a drug is on the market, especially if it's in very widespread use, as Ozempic is, so when I saw the reports, I wasn't particularly shocked."
Jen Belcher, pharmacist and vice president of strategic initiatives for the Ontario Pharmacists Association, agrees.
"I'm not surprised by any of the side effects that are listed in this case, because they are known side effects of the drug," she said. "It would just be up to the court to decide whether or not things like the monograph do an adequate job of conveying the risk so that health-care providers can have those conversations with patients."
Health Canada approved Ozempic as a prescription medication for adult patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus in 2018. The active ingredient, semaglutide, mimics the effects of a hormone called GLP-1 that is naturally produced in the intestines and works with the pancreas to release insulin and balance blood glucose levels. It also reduces appetite and food cravings by slowing digestion and sending signals to the brain that indicate the body is full or satiated.
While it hasn't been specifically approved for weight management in Canada, prescribers can, and commonly do, prescribe it off-label for that use in lieu of its sister drug, Wegovy. Wegovy is also produced by Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk and has been approved as a weight loss medication in Canada, but has yet to reach shelves here.
According to Power, an estimated 25 to 50 per cent of Ozempic prescriptions in Canada are for weight management.
Both drugs use the same active ingredient and both are administered through a weekly subcutaneous injection, but the dose prescribed for weight loss is higher than for diabetes management, and Wegovy comes with an injector specifically calibrated for that higher dosage, explained Belcher.
Whether it's being prescribed for diabetes or off-label for weight management, Belcher said prescribers have access to information about Ozempic's rarer, more serious side effects. These include some of the complications cited in the proposed class-action lawsuit as well as other risks for people with certain family medical histories and underlying disorders, such the risk of developing thyroid c-cell tumours or pancreatitis.
"A lot of that information is important to consider in the assessment and prescribing process for people who are considering using this type of medication or any other medication for diabetes or other endocrine disorders," Belcher said.
When a relatively new drug is prescribed as widely as Ozempic has been, both Belcher and Power said it's not uncommon to see some rarer side effects emerge. What remains to be seen is if the serious side effects associated with Ozempic become common enough, or if serious new risks emerge that are sufficient to compel Health Canada to withdraw the drug's approval order changes to its monograph. According to Health Canada, that describes the properties, claims, indications and conditions of usefor that drug, as well as other information necessary for safe and effective use of the drug.
"It's fairly rare that the approval would be pulled for a drug," Power said. "What is more likely to happen first is that there would be a warning of some type issued. Changes to the product monograph may include, in some cases, a boxed warning, which is a more serious concern."
A boxed warning, also known as a "black box warning" or a "serious warnings and precautions box" is a special warning on a prescription drug's label that lists any significantly dangerous or potentially life threating risks associated with that drug.
While some health-care providers might choose not to prescribe the drug to certain patients out of an abundance of caution, it remains a popular choice among prescribers treating patients for diabetes and obesity.
For overweight patients for whom the benefits outweigh the risks, Belcher said the drug can mean the difference between qualifying or not qualifying for a knee surgery, or a hip replacement surgery.
"I've been able to take people off their narcotics because their back doesn't hurt as much because they're not carrying as much weight around," she added.
The drug remains so popular worldwide that a shortage that began in August and was projected to end in October is now expected to last until March, both Belcher and Power confirmed.
In response, pharmacists like Belcher have had to ration their inventory by dispensing no more than a month's supply of the medication at a time for most patients. In other cases, doctors, nurses and pharmacists have temporarily resorted to prescribing similar, more well-stocked medications instead.
"If we continue to see the real uptick in prescribing the way that we've seen over the last sort of 12 to 18 months with the benefits of the drug and the overall awareness of the weight loss component to it, we may be in a more acute shortage situation," Belcher said.
Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday on what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic.
Scotiabank has confirmed outages affecting mobile and online banking services, according to a statement published to its X account.
Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.
A makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky fire hydrant in New York City has been paved over, to the dismay of neighbours who turned the area into a hangout spot and goldfish shrine.
Human-caused climate change made almost all of Canada鈥檚 heat waves hotter and more likely, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an announcement Friday.
A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
Longtime Liberal MP Wayne Long says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should give more weight to the views of his backbenchers in determining his future leading the Party, rather than relying on those in his immediate orbit.
Two adults and two children were found dead in the charred rubble of a house fire after a mother and another child jumped from a third-floor window to escape flames in a southwest Las Vegas neighborhood, authorities said.
Russian actors made a widely circulated video falsely depicting mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania, U.S. officials said Friday.
The Yukon government says testing around the gold mine where a containment facility gave way, spilling millions of tonnes of cyanide-laced rock, has found increased levels of mercury, cobalt and cyanide.
It's been a long and emotional journey for Manitoba residential school survivor Susan Caribou. Her niece, Tanya Nepinak, has been missing since September 2011 and has never been found.
The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) has uploaded dozens of dashboard camera videos from the 1970s to their YouTube channel.
Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.
A Canadian navy missile test was aborted mid-flight this week after controllers lost communication with the projectile off the coast of southern California.
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.
Russian actors made a widely circulated video falsely depicting mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania, U.S. officials said Friday.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to native Americans for the 'sin' of a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated children from their parents, calling it a 'blot on American history' in his first presidential visit to Indian Country.
Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday on what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic.
Chinese hackers targeted cellphones used by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his running mate, JD Vance, and people associated with the Democratic campaign of Kamala Harris, people familiar with the matter said Friday.
A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
Pizza inadvertently laced with THC has apparently sickened dozens of people in Wisconsin.
Longtime Liberal MP Wayne Long says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should give more weight to the views of his backbenchers in determining his future leading the Party, rather than relying on those in his immediate orbit.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada strongly condemns a new surge in gang violence in Haiti.
Canada's long-held consensus on immigration is under threat but has not disappeared, the immigration minister said in an interview after announcing a major cut to the number of newcomers to Canada.
Children who have coughs that go on for weeks may have a type of walking pneumonia that鈥檚 been surging in the U.S. this year, and they may need a different antibiotic regimen to treat it, infectious disease experts say.
The number of people infected by the E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers increased to 75 from 49, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
Understanding the common symptoms of a cold or flu can help you make an informed choice about treatment. Here鈥檚 what to know about each illnesses鈥 symptoms and when it鈥檚 time for a doctor visit.
Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are cracking down on a troubling spread of child sexual abuse imagery created through artificial intelligence technology 鈥 from manipulated photos of real children to graphic depictions of computer-generated kids.
The search for a popular tortoise that went missing from his home in Piedmont is over after his owner said he came home.
Most people have accumulated a pile of data -- selfies, emails, videos and more -- on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
Phil Lesh, a classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter who found his true calling reinventing the role of rock bass guitar as a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died Friday at age 84.
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
Tom Holland is getting ready to don his Spidey suit again. The fourth installment of the blockbuster series has been set for a July 2026 release, Sony Pictures said Friday.
Natural gas producers in Western Canada have white-knuckled it through months of depressed prices, with the expectation that their fortunes will improve when LNG Canada comes online in the middle of next year.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the world has become more prone to supply shocks which create more risks to inflation, but the central bank is in a better place to deal with them now that inflation is under control.
The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch pleaded not guilty Friday to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.
Archeologists have uncovered a tiny house in Pompeii that is filled with elaborate 鈥 and sometimes erotic 鈥 frescoes, further revealing the ornate way in which Romans decorated their homes.
In early 2018, Amanda and Sunil started chatting, messaging back and forth on Instagram, introducing themselves and talking a little about their lives. Fast forward to August 2018, the couple got engaged on vacation in Thailand and a year later, after Amanda moved to India, got married.
A Toronto man who only recently checked a Lotto 6/49 lottery ticket he bought back in June is now $2.5 million richer.
A Sherpa teenager who's won mountaineering celebrity as the youngest person ever to summit the world's 14 highest peaks called for Sherpas to be recognized as athletes and expedition leaders as well as porters and guides.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored the winning goal 1:26 into overtime, and the Winnipeg Jets remained unbeaten this season with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
Broadway vs. Hollywood has produced the starriest Series in decades, if not ever.
A town in southern Alberta will be one of the first to let golf carts be driven on select roads as part of a provincial pilot program.
An increased risk of fire has prompted the recall of thousands of Honda hybrid vehicles in Canada.
A senior executive for Volkswagen in China has been deported for allegedly using cocaine and marijuana while on vacation in Thailand, according to Chinese authorities and German media reports.
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
The final count of ballots in the 2024 B.C. election begins Saturday, with more than 66,000 mail-in and absentee votes potentially yet to be counted across the province's 93 electoral districts.
A B.C. real estate agent who allowed strangers to access a home without licensed supervision, and then lied when questioned about it later, is facing a $14,000 fine and a six-month suspension.
The countdown to the arrival of Taylor Swift鈥檚 Eras Tour is on, with three dates planned in Vancouver this December - and some condo owners are looking to cash in on the fan frenzy.
Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.
Police say they are searching for a second suspect wanted in connection with the murder of a 37-year-old Brampton man who was shot to death in Toronto last month.
Scotiabank has confirmed outages affecting mobile and online banking services, according to a statement published to its X account.
The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.
An investigation into the death of a man in Calgary police custody earlier this month has concluded that officers did not contribute to his death and that he was cared for properly.
The province still has a huge supply of a Turkish children鈥檚 pain-relief medicine that was procured in 2022 during a countrywide shortage.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a 14-year-old boy from Bridgewater, N.S. is facing several charges in connection with threats made against a Catholic high school in eastern Ontario.
A Montreal man is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of a woman at a park in Ottawa鈥檚 south end on Thursday.
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after a body was found in Perth, Ont. Friday afternoon.
Quebec's social services minister says he's outraged by reports that educators at a detention centre for youth in Montreal had sexual relations with minor detainees 鈥 and that one of the employees allegedly had a baby with a teenage resident.
Two minors were in court Friday to face charges after four teenagers were stabbed outside a Montreal high school.
Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday on what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic.
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.
A second person has been charged in connection with the death of a man in the Kingsway area earlier this year.
Students are feeling the pinch, and the University of Alberta Food Bank is looking to refill the shelves ahead of what is expected to be another record year for demand.
The GoFundMe page for the family of an employee found dead at a Halifax Walmart last weekend has paused donations after almost $200,000 was raised in roughly 24 hours.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a 14-year-old boy from Bridgewater, N.S. is facing several charges in connection with threats made against a Catholic high school in eastern Ontario.
Eviction day is one week away and the number of tents in the median of University Avenue in Halifax is steadily decreasing ahead of the city-imposed deadline.
Winnipeg police are looking for a suspect after a woman's dorm room was broken into at the U of M and she was assaulted.
Repairs to the historic 110-year-old rail bridge at The Forks could come with a multi-million dollar price tag.
Manitoba RCMP are providing an update to a crash on Highway 1 that killed one person on Wednesday.
Saturday will mark the end of the CFL regular season, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will have their eyes on Winnipeg鈥檚 matchup versus Montreal to know if they have a chance of clinching the West Division.
With an attempt to address the shortage of housing available in the community, the City of Yorkton has started a housing incentive program where new builders will receive a 50 per cent rebate on residential lots, and a full tax exemption for five years.
As the final day of voting for the Saskatchewan election inches closer, voters may be wondering when official winners will be declared.
Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, the man who stabbed three people in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo, says he 鈥榓cted dumb鈥.
All the evidence has now been called at the trial of Erick Buhr, who has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in the death of his grandmother, Viola Erb.
Residents spotted smoke coming from a waste management site in Waterloo on Friday afternoon.
A Saskatchewan woman is worried her child might die before receiving life-saving surgery and tests as he sits on the province's surgical waitlist.
The Saskatchewan RCMP is releasing the names of two suspects arrested on Thursday for a violent vehicle theft that triggered a widespread police search.
Police have still not confirmed the identity of a body discovered in Prince Albert last week.
The Town of Cochrane plans to roll out its $10-lot program in a month or two.
Two people 鈥 one from Timmins, the other from Kapuskasing -- have been fined more than $7,000 for camping violations, including empty septic tanks directly onto the ground.
The federal government is spending a significant amount of money to improve Indigenous student learning across Ontario.
London police have issued a warning to the public following an increased number of overdoses in the area of Queens Avenue and Adelaide Street North.
On Wednesday afternoon just before 4:30 p.m., a man and woman entered a business in the area of Oxford Street East and Highbury Avenue North.
A new staff report calls for homeless encampments to be allowed even closer to residential neighbourhoods, reducing the buffer zone from 100 metres to 25 metres.
Several students have been banned from being spectators at school sporting events, and others suspended from school, after verbal and physical exchanges at a high school soccer game.
A 15-year veteran officer with the South Simcoe Police Service has been charged with discreditable conduct following an allegation of sexual assault.
Residents are reporting troubling scenes along a stretch of Georgian Bay鈥檚 shoreline, where several dead birds have been found.
The Windsor Police Service is investigating a suspicious death in south-central Windsor.
A Harrow school is memorializing two students and their mother, who were tragically killed in June.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge will serve as a new crossing for vehicles, but many walkers and cyclists are also excited about the opportunity to access the U.S. in a different way.
The final count of ballots in the 2024 B.C. election begins Saturday, with more than 66,000 mail-in and absentee votes potentially yet to be counted across the province's 93 electoral districts.
Hulitan Early Years Centre is a brand new, 48-seat childhood learning centre in Colwood. It was built to support Indigenous children throughout the capital region.
Mounties in Nanaimo are asking the public for help as they investigate a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a man southeast of the city Thursday evening.
More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
About 15,000 students are enrolled at Lethbridge鈥檚 post-secondary schools, and now the city is working with those schools to try to find ways to get them s to stick around a while.
With Halloween less than a week away, organizations in Lethbridge are preparing to get in on the trick-or-treating fun.
The City of Lethbridge is bringing forward a water conservation policy, the first of its kind for the city.
The union that represents hospital workers across the province is used a symbol from Greek mythology Friday in Espanola to drive home its campaign about the perils of privatization in health care.
CTV's Coats for Kids is nearing the end of its donation window, with the need as strong as it鈥檚 ever been.
The Anishinabek Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the circumstances around a death in Fort William First Nation.
Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland earlier on the weekend.
Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 愛污传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.
