Cheaper alternatives for managing diabetes or weight loss have been on the rise as of late due to the inflation of prices for drugs such as Ozempic over the past few months which poses potential health risks according to both doctors as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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One of the major concerns brought to the surface by Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity doctor at Senolytix, is the use of synthesized materials in non-medical environments during the production of these knock off brands. He warns that “without the necessary quality assurance or quality control” that brand name drugs, like Ozempic, go through during their production process, “there’s no telling what you’re putting into your body.”
Medications like Ozempic require “precision in manufacturing,” according to Dr. Osborn, which is why he stresses the importance of patients only using “pharmaceutical-grade versions prescribed by a licensed doctor.” When this type of medication isn’t obtained from a “licensed pharmacy with a valid prescription from a doctor,” there is no verifying “the product’s source, ingredients, or overall safety…there is a massive black market for it,” Dr. Osborn emphasizes.
Another concern of Ozempic knock-offs physicians have is the lack of personalization to patient care as well as the lack of adherence to dosage recommendations based on patient body composition which can then lead to shortages if people are taking too much of these knock-off brands.
[READ MORE: WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS SAFE IF USED PROPERLY, WEST PALM BEACH DOCTOR SAYS]
This causes a third issue - shortages of these unregulated medications due to patients being able to purchase them directly from online sites. Legitimate compound companies only work with physicians, so if a person is able to purchase a knock-off GLP-1 class medication directly from an online platform, it is an unlawful site.
Dr. Osborn offered some optimism to this population of individuals who may not be able to afford weight loss drugs like Ozempic stating that “many pharmaceutical companies offer patient assistance programs” that their physicians can guide them in. He also noted that there are “other prescription medications that may be more affordable, but still safe and effective at lowering insulin levels and driving weightloss,” like metformin, a time-tested diabetes medication.
When it comes to GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Osborn stressed the importance of safety first seeing as these types of drugs are “powerful tools” that “can be dangerous in the wrong hands.” He reiterated that they should be prescribed by licensed physicians only after a thorough consultation and that “under no circumstances should you turn to unregulated alternatives just to save money.”
The full version of this article was published on Fox News by Melissa Rudy on October 14, 2024
