About The Study: The number of prescriptions filled for semaglutide has increased substantially, reaching 2.6 million prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies by December 2023. While Ozempic persistently accounted for most semaglutide fills, increases were considerably greater for Wegovy since its approval for weight loss in June 2021. These increases, which primarily occurred following increased awareness of weight-loss benefits in late 2022, are likely contributing to the FDA-reported shortage of Ozempic and Wegovy first issued in March 2022. Despite the disproportionate burden of obesity in Medicaid and Medicare Part D populations, and recent increases in public spending on weight-loss medications, most Wegovy fills were for the commercially insured.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD, email qato@usc.edu.
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(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.2026)
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