STAT+: British Columbia to bar Americans from buying Ozempic over supply concerns
British Columbia plans to limit sales of the popular diabetes drug Ozempic to Canadian residents in response to a wave of Americans flocking to local pharmacies in search of the drug, potentially straining supplies in the province.
Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk, is experiencing surging demand because it not only helps regulate blood sugar in people with diabetes, but can also help people lose weight. In the first two months of this year, 15% of the roughly 16,000 Ozempic dispenses in British Columbia were sold to U.S. residents, according to a Tuesday release from the province. That’s an “unusually high percentage,” as the average proportion of other drugs sold to Americans is 0.4%, the province said.
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