Saxenda no supply. Wegovy/Ozempic No reliable supply

Alas it appears that for the time being Saxenda is not returning to the weight loss market. Wegovy is coming out but in exceptionally small amounts to independent clinics. In the UK the sole distributor and our only supplier is a merged company with Boots. Boots has their own weight loss patients and because of the arrangement between the two companies that is where the majority of the medication is going. 

I have been trying very hard to source medication to restart the clinic but unless the supply chain is strong and reliable then I won't formally reopen to weight loss bookings

Update 12th August 2023:

There is no available prescription medication. There is no Saxenda aka Liraglutide. There is no Victoza aka Liraglutide for anyone who isn't a Type 2 Diabetic. There is no Ozempic (aka Semaglutide) which doesn't actually have a license for weight loss, and is only available for people with Type 2 diabetes. WEGOVY (aka Semaglutide for weight loss) is not available yet and its wrong that this was placed in the public main stream media recently.

I will contact clients when medication supplies restart. I intend to review the situation in Mid September 2023, and will email all clients.

Patients on treatment for weight management

For those taking Saxenda or Ozempic for weight loss rather than diabetes there is no alternative prescription. These patients should be advised to continue with their dietary and lifestyle measures to maintain weight loss achieved but will need to discontinue treatment until supplies resume. NB Ozempic is not licensed for weight loss outside of the context of diabetes but is widely used. For some patients, Orlistat (which reduces fat absorption) may help maintain weight loss but if offered patients should be counselled on potential GI side effects as detailed in the patient information. Orlistat is available on prescription and as an over-the-counter medication - (addendum by Dr Greig: Orlistat is in limited supply according to medication supply companies)

Dr David Hopkins   Dr Elias Chacko

I have spent the past few weeks in meetings with various people at NovoNordisk the only manufacturers of Saxenda. No one at NovoNordisk was able to tell me when a stable supply will be available. Its likely to be 2024. Saxenda is only made in Copenhagen, in one facility. Then it is given to a single distributor in the UK called Alliance. Alliance are over subscribed and as soon as they get a delivery, they are out of stock.

The problem started in early May 2023 when global news outlets and social media started talking about Saxenda/Ozempic as the 'magical weight loss injection' - this drove up global demand beyond any supply capability of the company. Hence zero availability.

The pharmacists on Jersey cannot reliably source Saxenda and therefore clients cannot continue to use Saxenda at present to lose weight.