German drug regulator considering export ban on Ozempic

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[1/2]A box of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug used for treating type 2 diabetes and made by Novo Nordisk, is seen at a Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. March 29, 2023..

FRANKFURT, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The head of German drug regulator BfArM is considering an export ban on Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) diabetes drug Ozempic, which is in high demand for its weight-loss benefits, to prevent a worsened supply shortage...

Ozempic is approved to treat type 2 diabetes but has increasingly been prescribed "off-label" to treat weight loss because it has the same active ingredient as Novo's hugely popular but scarce anti-obesity drug Wegovy...

In a statement on its website, BfArM reiterated a call for physicians to only prescribe drugs from the class of GLP-1 receptor agonists, which include Ozempic and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N).

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