The anti-diabetic drug semaglutide is in short supply in Italy and is increasingly used off indication for weight loss. The medicine is in fact included by the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) in the list of deficient drugs and in an information note published on the Aifa website it is underlined that the increase in demand “has led to shortages that are expected to continue throughout 2023” . While supply continues to increase, the note reads, “it is not possible to predict with certainty when it will be sufficient to fully meet current demand. Late awareness of the out-of-stock situation may result in patients being unable to acquire doses.” necessary, with possible clinical consequences such as hyperglycemia”.
Claudio Tubili on Sky TG24: “Inappropriate prescription”
“Semaglutide is a very active drug on glycemia control and on other aspects of diabetes, such as weight loss and reduction of overall cardiovascular risk – explains Claudio Tubili, medical director of the Diabetology Unit at San Camillo in Rome -. It is prescribable in Italy for diabetic patients, not for non-diabetic patients who take advantage of the slimming effect. The latter is an inappropriate prescription, off-label in technical jargon”. “There are studies that confirm that the drug is safe and effective for obese and non-diabetic people, but at the moment it is not possible to prescribe it in Italy. Let’s subtract a drug for more complex patients than those who are simply overweight or obese. We cannot deprive a person with a chronic disease, such as diabetes, of a drug, with possible complications and associated pathologies”. At the moment, explained Tubili, “We try to juggle the dosages hoping that the situation is transitory. According to Aifa, throughout the year we will have a situation of hiccups in the availability of the drug. For the new therapies we will have to consider other ways. they are alternative medicines that we will consider again,” he stressed. “There were probably colleagues who were not very attentive to the availability of the drug for diabetics, it was perhaps lightly prescribed”.