❌

Normal view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.
Before yesterdayMain stream

Buying shady weight loss drugs online is a bad idea, in case you were wondering

By: Beth Mole
2 August 2024 at 21:52
Buying shady weight loss drugs online is a bad idea, in case you were wondering

Enlarge (credit: https://www.uschemlabs.com/product/semaglutide-2mg-5-vials/)

Buying counterfeit weight loss drugs from illegal online pharmacies that don't require prescriptions is, in fact, a very bad idea, according to a study published Friday in JAMA Network Open.

The counterfeit drugs are sold as equivalents to the blockbuster semaglutide drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, which are prescription only. When researchers got their hands on three illegal versions, they found that the counterfeit drugs had low-purity semaglutide, had dosages that exceeded the labeled amount, and one had signs of bacterial contamination.

The three substandard drugs tested came from three different illegal online pharmacies, which sold them as generic semaglutide drugs for weight loss, appetite suppression, diabetes, and cardiovascular health. However, the researchers, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of PΓ©cs in Hungary, had initially tried purchasing counterfeit drugs from six such sellers.

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

New weight-loss and diabetes drugs linked to lower risk of 10 cancers

By: Beth Mole
9 July 2024 at 15:50
Ozempic is a GLP-1 drug for adults with type 2 diabetes.

Enlarge / Ozempic is a GLP-1 drug for adults with type 2 diabetes. (credit: Getty | Steve Christo)

For patients with Type 2 diabetes, taking one of the new GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic, is associated with lower risks of developing 10 out of 13 obesity-associated cancers as compared with taking insulin, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.

The study was retrospective, capturing data from over 1.6 million patients with Type 2 diabetes but no history of obesity-associated cancers prior to the study period. Using electronic health records, researchers had follow-up data for up to 15 years after the patients started taking either a GLP-1 drug, insulin, or metformin between 2008 and 2015.

This type of study can't prove that the GLP-1 drugs caused the lower associated risks, but the results fit with some earlier findings. That includes results from one trial that found a 32 percent overall lower risk of obesity-associated cancers following bariatric surgery for weight loss.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Drugmaker to testify on why weight-loss drugs cost 15x more in the US

By: Beth Mole
17 June 2024 at 19:14
Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, chief executive officer Novo Nordisk A/S, during an interview at the company's headquarters in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, on Monday, June 12, 2023.

Enlarge / Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, chief executive officer Novo Nordisk A/S, during an interview at the company's headquarters in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, on Monday, June 12, 2023. (credit: Getty | Carsten Snejbjerg)

After some persuasion from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the CEO of Novo Nordisk will testify before lawmakers later this year on the "outrageously high cost" of the company's diabetes and weight-loss drugsβ€”Ozempic and Wegovyβ€”in the US.

CEO Lars JΓΈrgensen will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), which is chaired by Sanders, in early September. The agreement came after a conversation with Sanders in which the CEO reportedly "reconsidered his position" and agreed to testify voluntarily. As such, Sanders has canceled a vote scheduled for June 18 on whether to subpoena Novo Nordisk to discuss its US prices, which are considerably higher than those of other countries.

The independent lawmaker has been working for months to pressure Novo Nordisk into lowering its prices and appearing before the committee. In April, Sanders sent JΓΈrgensen a letter announcing an investigation into the prices and included a lengthy set of information requests. In May, the committee's investigation released a report suggesting that Novo Nordisk's current pricing threatens to "bankrupt our entire health care system."

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

❌
❌