Wegovy

A TikTok trend led to a shortfall of a lifesaving drug. Now there's a solution - but Australians may still have to wait.

“I need this to live. The hashtag #Ozempic has amassed more than 158.3 million views on the platform. [7NEWS.com.au](https://7news.com.au/) at the time. I’ve got this for life, and I need to manage it, and you want to take away my medication so you don’t have to eat properly and do some exercise?” she told 7NEWS.com.au understands the TGA is aware Novo Nordisk is not yet supplying Wegovy to Australia. With a higher dose of semaglutide specifically for weight loss, the drug could reduce the Ozempic shortage by offering doctors the option to prescribe the low-dose Ozempic to diabetics and Wegovy to patients with obesity. 7NEWS.com.au understands the high global demand for the drug means Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures both Ozempic and Wegovy, will not yet release the drug in Australia. On Thursday, the TGA approved the drug Wegovy - which has the same active ingredient as Ozempic - for chronic weight management for adults with obesity in Australia. “The increased demand is due to extensive prescribing for obesity management, for which Ozempic is not indicated,” it said in a statement in May. [weight loss drug](https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing) could change the lives of thousands of [Australians living with obesity](https://7news.com.au/news/public-health) and diabetes who have been struggling to get their hands on treatment. [Australia](https://7news.com.au/news/australia), [7NEWS.com.au](https://7news.com.au/) can reveal it is unlikely to [be accessible at local pharmacies](https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/medicine) anytime soon. [struggle to find stock of the life-saving drug Ozempic](https://7news.com.au/news/public-health/sarah-needs-this-drug-to-survive-but-a-tiktok-weight-loss-trend-means-its-in-short-supply-c-7173254), a once-a-week injectable prescription medicine to help people with type-2 diabetes depend control their blood sugar.