Should Ozempic come with a warning about a risk of suicidal thoughts?
In the U.S., the prescribing label of Ozempic's sister drug, Wegovy, already warns of possible suicidal ideation because of similar side effects linked to other weight loss drugs.
Following reports of self-injury and suicidal thoughts among a small number of people who’ve taken Ozempic or Wegovy in Europe and the United Kingdom, health regulators there are investigating whether the drugs carry a risk of these side effects.
The European Medicines Agency said last month that it was reviewing 150 such reports from people who took drugs in this class, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which lower blood sugar and suppress appetite by mimicking a hormone in the gut.
Then last week, the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency told Reuters that it was reviewing safety data about the drugs following similar reports.
Neither Ozempic nor Wegovy, which are both versions of a drug called semaglutide at different dosages, carry warnings about suicidal ideation in Europe or the U.K., since clinical trials have not shown evidence of an increased risk.
But in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration requires that medications for weight management that work on the central nervous system carry a warning about suicidal thoughts. Because the agency approved Wegovy as a weight loss treatment, its prescribing label asks medical professionals to monitor for these symptoms and to discontinue the medication if people develop them. Ozempic, which is only FDA-approved to treat diabetes, does not come with that warning.
But some patients think it should.
Source: NBC 1 August 2023