Ozempic is suddenly a household brand name, akin to Aleve, Advil, or Nyquil. Many people are calling Ozempic, and other drugs like it, "miracle drugs." Ozempic and Mounjaro are part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s for short). Ozempic was approved by the F.D.A. 2017, while Mounjaro, Ozempic’s primary competitor, was approved in 2022. Both were approved in the U.S. F.D.A. to help lower blood sugar. Soon after the drugs came onto the market, they were found to be quite useful to lose weight, which led the companies to develop analogous forms of the diabetes drugs that were designed and approved for weight loss. Ozempic’s active ingredient, semaglutide, was approved by the F.D.A. Wegovy in 2021; and Mounjaro’s active ingredient, tirzepatide, was approved for weight loss in the form of Zepbound in 2023. Being a treatment for obesity isn’t the only discovery about these drugs that have been made since they’ve come onto the market.

Scientists are finding that the drugs may be useful to treat addiction, dementia, and heart disease (CNBC). Wegovy, in May 2024, was approved by the F.D.A. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in the U.S., and obesity as the leading cause of heart disease, these drugs bring a lot of promise to two of America’s most-pressing health problems. The increase in use of these drugs, though, can seem alarming. Data analyzed by Epic Research showed an increase in use of these drugs by 40-fold between 2017 and 2021, estimating that 6 million Americans are now on either Ozempic or Mounjaro. CNBC, analyzing data for GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound) found that 9 million prescriptions of them were written in Q4 of 2022. This means that roughly 2 - 3% of the population in the United States may now be taking one of these drugs. CNBC also reports that a study found that, now that Wegovy is approved to treat heart disease in obese patients, more than 3 million Americans on Medicare could be eligible for prescription coverage of these drugs, noting that the program’s budget could be strained as Wegovy is now covered by their Part D prescription plan.

The increase in use of GLP-1s is alarming for two reasons: (1) The first reason that the increase in use of GLP-1 drugs is concerning is their little-known long-term side effects and MedicGLP Capsules potentially unknown short-term side effects. The drugs’ benefits are clear, but their vast benefits could also be a double-edged sword. Due to the increase in use, science may need time to "catch up" on the side effects - as in, to determine both short-term and long-term side effects as the drugs are used for different conditions and for longer periods of time. For example, one of the first GLP-1 drugs that entered the U.S. Victoza. Victoza was approved in 2010, but in 2013, the FDA issued a warning to consumers of "possible increased risk of pancreatitis and pre-cancerous findings of the pancreas." But we don’t have to look at previous generations of GLP-1s so see the risk that unknown side effects have. In January 2024, the FDA announced it was evaluation reports of hair loss and suicidal thoughts in patients taking Ozempic, Mounjaro, or Wegovy.

So, we have seen successful GLP-1 drugs receive warnings years after being on the market for previously unknown side effects, in both an older and MedicGLP Capsules newer GLP-1 drugs. We must keep these cases in mind as these drugs are adopted widely as treatments for various diseases. 2) The second reason that the increase of use is alarming is because of effects on patients’ access to their prescribed drugs. As mentioned previously, the price and wide-spread eligibility for these drugs is causing Medicare’s Part D budget to become strained. The current price, which is partially a function of supply / demand, is putting pressure even on institutions’ abilities to keep the drugs stocked. On an individual level too, the imbalance of supply and demand of these drugs has caused concerns. CBS reports that some diabetics are having a hard time having consistent access to these drugs. The limited supplies currently experienced by patients with diabetes are not purely a function of supply and demand, but also who doctors are prescribing the drugs to.