The government will crack down on replicas of Ozempic and other weight loss drugs, closing a loophole that allowed pharmacies to make and sell them to about 20,000 Australians.
Widespread and ongoing shortages of the brand-name drugs from pharmacies – especially for weight loss, as pharmacists prioritise stock for people with diabetes – have left patients turning to compounding pharmacies, which are making their own version of the drugs en masse.
