Novo Nordisk A/S replenished supplies of Ozempic, a treatment for diabetes, after social media-driven enthusiasm over the drug’s use for weight loss led to six months of shortages.
Two common doses of Ozempic are now available again, according to an update posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database that Novo confirmed in a statement. A third, higher dose of the drug may have limited availability in late March, the FDA and Novo said.
Researchers who developed Ozempic to control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, which afflicts some 35 million Americans, also found the medication helped patients shed an average of 8 to 14 pounds. Reports on TikTok and other social media platforms from people taking the drug led to a run on Ozempic, which costs about $900 a month. Similar diabetes treatments like Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro also sold briskly, leaving patients scrambling to fill prescriptions.
