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Published: Thursday, 10 August 2023 09:33

Written by 340B Editor

Recently certain Ozempic (semaglutide) doses have been on backorder again at multiple pharmacies. This has been identified as a national drug shortage due to increased demand. (The shortage also includes Wegovy which has an FDA indication for weight loss).

Ozempic 2mg is currently on backorder, while 1mg dose is not reported to be in shortage, but may be difficult to find. The estimated re-supply announcement for the 2 mg pen is expected to continue through mid-August 2023, but it is subject to change.

With this in mind, consider the following:

1)      Do not start any new patients on OZEMPIC at this time.

• Alternatives include: Trulicity, Bydureon BCISE, which are also injected weekly or Victoza injected daily, or Rybelsus oral/daily

2)      Do not prescribe OZEMPIC for weight loss alone.

• If a patient has been utilizing this for weight loss and does not have diabetes, consider discontinuation of the medication at this time as it is only further limited supply to those with DM.

3)      Do not prescribe a higher dose of Ozempic to be injected with a pen that delivers a smaller dose

•  Insurance will not pay for a patient to use the 1 mg pen to deliver 2 mg weekly in doses as there are quantity limits for each Rx.

4)      Encourage patients to request refills before using their last weekly dose of Ozempic.

• This way, we have at least 1 week to call pharmacies and find out who has what in stock, though there is no guarantee they will have it.

5)      Encourage patients to call clinic right away if they are not able to get their supply from their pharmacy

• The only way to know if a pharmacy has it in stock will be to call them at the time the Rx needs to be filled. The refill team can call the pharmacies in the area to see if anyone has the strength the patient needs in stock, though there is no guarantee they will have it. The refill team will inquire stock for all strengths for both medications as they can be used interchangeably.

6)      Be ready to make changes

• Consider decreasing the dose of the agent if a lower strength is available at the pharmacy. The refill team will collect this information and send it your way to make a decision.
• For example, the patient takes Ozempic 1 mg weekly, but only 0.5 mg pens are available, consider sending a 1 month supply of the lower dose to the pharmacy, with a note stating “decreasing d/t backorder, will increase again next month if available.” This way, the next month the refill team can identify if the higher strength is available and send to you for increasing the dose. If not, they will send 1 more month of the lower dose at that time.
• Consider alternative DM medications until normal supply returns. Trulicity, Bydureon BCISE which are also injected weekly or Victoza injected daily, or Rybelsus oral/daily

GLP1RA equivalent dosing:

Note that:

• ·       Ozempic can be injected up to 5 days late.

o   For example, if pt injects every Tuesday, and they are not able to get their fill until Sunday, they can still inject that Sunday and then again the following Tuesday and still have good BG lowering results.

More shortage info: https://www.ashp.org/drug-shortages/current-shortages/drug-shortage-detail.aspx?id=813&loginreturnUrl=SSOCheckOnly.

Written By:

Natalia Puccinelli, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM

Clinical Pharmacist

Community Health Centers of Lane County

2073 Olympic Street

Springfield, OR  97477-3413