Ozempic A Miracle Drug Too Good To Be True?
It has been two years because the public failure of the COVID-19 vaccine; one may suppose People can be skeptical of huge pharma merchandise & the integrity of the FDA.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical firm, overtook LVMH to turn into Europe’s most useful firm. Maker Novo Nordisk’s drug Semaglutide, offered below Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, is a blockbuster kind 2 diabetic and weight reduction drug, leading to a 1.6 billion in gross sales within the first quarter of 2024.
In keeping with USA Right this moment, Dr. Judy Korner, an endocrinologist, describes Semaglutide medicine in a quite simple and elementary manner. “GLP-1 goes to the pancreas and helps the pancreas make insulin – however solely when the physique wants insulin. So, when glucose ranges rise, the physique wants extra insulin, and GLP-1 or Ozempic (its mimicker) helps the pancreas launch insulin,” Korner explains. For weight reduction, alerts are despatched to the urge for food heart in your mind to cut back starvation and enhance fullness,” acknowledged Dr. Deborah Horn, “This helps you are feeling full with smaller meals and reduces the necessity for snacks.”
Apart from curbing the excessive blood sugar degree for diabetics, tens of millions of People have been taking this drug to shed extra kilos. When you go off Semaglutide drug, “Nearly instantly, your weight will begin creeping again up,” mentioned Insider’s Gabby Lansverk. Novo Nordisk, the producer of Ozempic and Wegovy, says that very like cholesterol-controlling statin medicine, this new class of medicines is probably going a lifelong dedication. A research of a whole bunch of Ozempic takers launched in 2022 discovered that after one yr with out the drug, sufferers regained two-thirds of the burden that they had misplaced, cited Enterprise Insider.
“There’s a “30% probability of getting GI (gastrointestinal) aspect impact,” based on Dr. Prateek Sharma, a professor of medication on the College of Kansas Faculty of Medication. Novo Nordisk fees roughly $1,000.00 for a weekly injection. Harvard analysis discovered that the five-year value of the Ozempic was $53,268 versus $19,685 for the minimally invasive endoscopic bariatric process is more cost effective and helps shed extra kilos. Both manner, each have controversial negative effects.
“In some individuals, they could additionally immediate bouts of vomiting that may require medical consideration and gradual the abdomen a lot that they will result in a situation known as gastroparesis. Whereas gastroparesis might or might not enhance after the medicine is stopped, some sufferers have claimed that their situation didn’t enhance months after quitting the drug”, CNN reported.
US Information, revealed an article, Abdomen Paralysis Threat Might Rise in Folks Taking Ozempic and Comparable Medication. US Information describes a research at College Hospitals in Cleveland. They combed by way of tens of millions of affected person information from 80 well being care organizations. Focus was on adults who have been overweight and had no historical past of diabetes and had not been recognized with gastroparesis or pancreatitis at the least six months earlier than beginning a GLP-1 medicine within the 286,000 sufferers on this research.
Of these prescribed the GLP-1 medicine for weight discount, 10 out of 10,000 have been recognized with gastroparesis at the least six months later. Sufferers taking the medicine have been additionally extra prone to have nausea, vomiting, or gastroesophageal reflux illness (GERD). They have been additionally extra prone to have their gallbladders eliminated and expertise drug-induced pancreatitis.
Sharma famous that his research included individuals who had diabetes in each the group taking the GLP-1 drugs and within the comparability group, and so they nonetheless discovered the next incidence of abdomen paralysis in these taking the drugs, suggesting that diabetes alone wasn’t the perpetrator.
The FDA-approved Semaglutide merchandise have a black field warning indicating that the Semaglutide drug carries a big threat of great and even life-threatening opposed results, reminiscent of the danger of all thyroid C-cell tumors or thyroid cancers inside 12-36 months of use. Extra revealed negative effects are “gastric paralysis (paralyzed abdomen muscle), resulting in cyclical vomiting for years even after stopping the drug, acute and long-term kidney failure & short-term and long-term liver failure,” per Dr. Ardis.
The healthcare industries proceed to disappoint customers. Hopefully, quickly, customers will get up and notice they’ve been performed. Huge Pharma is the largest spender on TV adverts, foundational weight problems (particularly Nova Nordisk) analysis, civil rights teams, and medical teams reminiscent of AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics).
Per Politico, “Novo Nordisk, which makes the blockbuster weight reduction medicine Ozempic and Wegovy, employed legislation and lobbying agency Arnold & Porter and others to attempt to persuade policymakers to permit Medicare to cowl anti-obesity drugs.” Novo Nordisk spent a complete of $4.6 million on lobbying the federal authorities final yr, and $1.3 million within the first three months of 2023. The corporate and its six outdoors lobbying companies listed lobbying on weight problems medication protection this yr in disclosure types. That is normal follow for Huge Pharma, reaching deep into the pockets of Medicare & Medicaid. They know the stream of funds might be obtainable as soon as their medicine go the inexperienced gentle.
Whereas each medicine include the energetic ingredient semaglutide, Ozempic is just accredited as a diabetes remedy, although it’s prescribed off-label as an anti-obesity drug. Wegovy is FDA-approved for weight reduction. Medicare Half D and most business insurers solely cowl Ozempic for the remedy of diabetes. With out protection, the medicine can value sufferers round $16,000 per yr.
One research cited by the Kaiser Household Basis discovered that protection of weight reduction medicine like Wegovy may result in almost $27 billion in extra Medicare Half D spending, ought to the 41 % of People over 60 years outdated thought-about overweight determine to take the drug.
People spent over $722 billion on prescribed drugs in 2023, a virtually 14% enhance from 2022, which outpaced inflation. Presidential campaigns echo the phrases to face as much as the pharmaceutical business and decrease prescription drug costs, however they’re empty guarantees.
In keeping with Bernie Sanders on Fox Information (June 23, 2023), “The pharmaceutical business is likely one of the strongest political forces in America. In a Congress of 100 senators and 435 members of the Home, the pharmaceutical business has greater than 1,800 well-paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill. These embody former leaders of the Democratic and Republican events. With only a few exceptions, the drug firms are completely unregulated. They will set their costs to any degree for any motive they need. They usually do!”
Though lawsuits in opposition to Ozempic have been filed, there was a lot suffrage for harmless individuals in our nation, and the FDA has turned a blind eye to drug producers’ issues of safety. The US FDA led the best disaster on this nation’s historical past in the course of the COVID lockdown. They bankrupted small companies and a few chains worldwide for nothing greater than the Flu. They’re beginning it another time with Chicken Flu.
They have been championing, selling, and mendacity in regards to the validity of the mRNA vaccine, simply as they’ve executed with so many different dangerous medicine and vaccines in America. When will massive pharma be held accountable?
