Understanding Ozempic: The Weight Loss Wonder and Biologic Breakthrough

What is Ozempic^®?

Ozempic^® (semaglutide) injection 0.5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg is an injectable prescription medicine used:

• along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes.
• to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes with known heart disease.

It is not known if Ozempic^® can be used in people who have had pancreatitis.
Ozempic^® is not for use in people with type 1 diabetes.
It is not known if Ozempic^® is safe and effective for use in children under 18 years of age.

Why Is Ozempic Getting So Much Attention?

Ozempic, a drug used to treat diabetes, keeps gaining attention as celebrities, a tech mogul and TikTok influencers have described taking it to lose weight in short time frames.

The Food and Drug Administration first approved the injectable medication for treating diabetes in 2017; the agency approved a drug with a higher dose of the active ingredient in Ozempic, called semaglutide, to treat obesity in 2021, under the brand name Wegovy. Since then, talk of the drug has popped up across the internet. Elon Musk, when asked about how he looked “fit, ripped and healthy,” tweeted that he was taking Wegovy. Andy Cohen posted about Ozempic’s growing popularity. In September, Variety reported that actors and producers “are quietly singing the drug’s praises” on Signal, an encrypted messaging app. On TikTok, the hashtag #Ozempic has been viewed over 273 million times, with people alternately expressing shock over their supposed medication-induced weight loss and swapping stories about side effects. Thousands of people in Britain will soon be able to access Wegovy as well.

Ozempic and Wegovy are not the only medications gaining popularity for their weight loss effects. In November 2023, the F.D.A. approved Zepbound, a new drug for weight managemnt that contains the same compound as the diabetes medication Mounjaro. And similar drugs are in the pipeline, including pill versions of the medications.

It’s not unusual for doctors to prescribe medications for “off-label” use, or for a different purpose from what the medication is explicitly intended for, said Dr. Disha Narang, an endocrinologist at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. As interest in Ozempic has increased, some doctors believe that more people have sought ways to take the drug for weight loss — either by finding a physician who will prescribe it to them off-label, or by seeking the drug out online. Dr. Narang herself has seen patients “who have somehow gotten their hands on this,” taking the medication off-label, she said. (Dr. Narang previously served on an advisory panel for Novo Nordisk, a common practice for experts in the field.)

How does Ozempic work?

Ozempic and Wegovy are both designed to be injected once a week in the stomach, thigh or arm.

The Business of Weight Loss Drugs

• Embracing ‘Forever’ Drugs: Studies show that many patients don’t take the medicines prescribed for them, leading to countless deaths. What makes obesity drugs different?
• What the Drugs Really Cost: Drug companies are making billions from a new class of in-demand weight-loss treatments. But the prices are not what they seem.
• Barriers to Access: Talk to people who have tried to get one of the new weight-loss drugs and they’ll probably have a story about the hoops they had to jump through to get their medication. Here are six reasons why getting the medications is so difficult.
• Reshaping Denmark’s Economy: Novo Nordisk, the Danish company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, two popular obesity medications, is now responsible for most of the country’s economic growth.

Semaglutide lowers blood sugar levels and regulates insulin, which is crucial for people with Type 2 diabetes. The drug also imitates a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that we naturally produce in our intestines, limiting appetite by signaling to our bodies that we feel full and prompting our stomachs to empty more slowly. As a result, people with obesity and accompanying health concerns have lost weight while taking it. People feel fuller faster, said Dr. Janice Jin Hwang, chief of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. For patients taking the medication, “foods that used to be really exciting to them are no longer exciting,” she said. Some people report that their “food noise,” or ruminations about food, disappear after taking drugs like Ozempic. The medication has not been significantly studied in people without diabetes or excess weight.

The medication can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease for people with diabetes, said Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association.

The F.D.A. has not approved Ozempic for weight loss, noted Dr. Andrew Kraftson, a clinical associate professor in the division of metabolism, endocrinology and diabetes at Michigan Medicine. But after the F.D.A. authorized Wegovy for weight loss, there was such demand for the drug that some providers turned to Ozempic when they couldn’t get Wegovy, he explained.

What makes Ozempic the talk of the town?

Semaglutide, famously known as Ozempic, is taking the weight loss scene by storm, and we’re here to unravel its secrets and explore its extraordinary impact on biologic innovation. This webinar is tailor-made for biologic innovators who want to ride the wave of this trendy weight loss drug and delve into its patents, sequences, and targets and explore its role as a biologic breakthrough.