Weight reduction drugs including Wegovy and Saxenda are being reviewed by Europe’s drugs regulator over a possible connection to thoughts of suicide and self-harm amongst users. Ozempic, which is approved as diabetes medication but often used off-label for weight reduction as a consequence of its appetite curbing side-effects, can also be being included within the review.

The European Medicines Agency was alerted to the potential link by Iceland following three cases, the BBC reports. Because of this, the regulator’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee will investigate medication that accommodates either semaglutide or liraglutide. It should also consider whether other similar drugs – within the broader category of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists – also must be assessed for risks.

“The review is being carried out within the context of a signal procedure raised by the Icelandic Medicines Agency, following three case reports. A signal is information on a latest or known hostile event that’s potentially attributable to a medication and that warrants further investigation,” an EMA official told the BBC. “The case reports included two cases of suicidal thoughts – one following using Saxenda and one after Ozempic. One additional case reported thoughts of self-injury with Saxenda.”

While the medicines do already list suicidal thoughts and depression as a possible side effect, suicidal behaviour will not be currently included. Other potential unwanted effects of semaglutide drugs will be nausea, dizziness, constipation, vomiting and diarrhoea.

A representative of the manufacturer of Wegovy and Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, said it’s working with the EMA and that patient safety is a top priority. “GLP-1 receptor agonists have been used to treat type-2 diabetes for greater than 15 years and for treatment of obesity for eight years, including Novo Nordisk products comparable to semaglutide and liraglutide which have been within the UK market since 2018 and 2009 respectively,” the said. “The security data collected from large clinical-trial programmes and post-marketing surveillance haven’t demonstrated a causal association between semaglutide or liraglutide and suicidal and self-harming thoughts.”

The UK’s drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said it was monitoring the situation.

Semaglutide is used to treat type 2 diabetes by helping to control blood sugar levels by mimicking the motion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). It also greatly suppresses appetite and slows the speed at which the stomach empties, which has led to its use as a weight-loss drug. Saxenda and Wegovy are approved and licensed for weight reduction, while Ozempic is currently only approved for diabetes. Within the UK, Wegovy will not be yet available but last month the prime minister announced plans for GPs to start out offering it to NHS patients.

A pill type of semaglutide can also be currently being developed. Pharmaceutical firms are racing to be the primary to market with the oral version of the drug as doctors consider it is going to be more palatable to people than injections. There may be big money to be comprised of this: Ozempic is forecast to have 2023 sales of $12.5 billion and as much as $17bn in 2029. It accounts for 98 percent of Novo Nordisk’s 42 percent overall growth last 12 months. While the pill might entice more people to take semaglutide, nevertheless, the upper dose does mean there are more unwanted effects. In a trial conducted by Novo Nordisk on obese and chubby participants without diabetes, 80 percent reported gastrointestinal issues like vomiting, nausea, constipation or diarrhoea. 

For the reason that weight-loss effects of semaglutide have turn into known to the general public, the drug  – and its branded names of Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda – has come to dominate the cultural conversation and turn into so popular there may be currently a national shortage, and even individuals with diabetes are struggling to get their hands on it. But while the drug is being heralded by some as “silver-bullet” weight reduction miracle, there appear to be many physical and emotional unwanted effects that include taking semaglutide. 

In June, Professor Jens Juul Holst, a scientist whose work within the Seventies helped pioneer Ozempic, warned that individuals will struggle to take it for greater than a couple of years since it takes the pleasure out of eating. “When you’ve been on this for a 12 months or two, life is so miserably boring that you may’t stand it any longer and you might have to return to your old life,” he said. 

On a wider cultural level, the recognition of the drug has exposed how prevalent fatphobia still is and that, despite all of the work movements like body positivity have done, extreme thinness above all else stays the wonder ideal.

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