Thursday April 20, 2023 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. | Island Social Trends
The Province is enacting a new regulation effective immediately to ensure that diabetes patients in BC do not experience a shortage of the diabetes drug semaglutide, known widely as Ozempic.
The announcement was made by Health Minister Adrian Dix yesterday, offering of leadership for what should be considered across the country to prevent misuse of the bargained drug supply that Canada achieves in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies.
He did not come out to directly say that actions taken by a doctor in New Brunswick were illegal (over 17,000 prescriptions for semaglutide were filled in a short period of time, for ‘patients’ located in the United States, via one or more pharmacies in BC). Dix praised the New Brunswick government for taking action within 48 hours of the data being provided by BC Health.
Dix spoke broadly about protecting the hard work of governments in negotiating for lower pharmaceutical prices in Canada, noting that people in BC and across Canada enjoy lower-cost pharmaceuticals as a result and that persons or governments in the United States should essentially not be piggybacking on that to their own financial advantage.
As such, Dix was speaking up for the benefits of universal health care as is normally highly appreciated in Canada. When nudged by media questions he suggested the USA should do better, noting at least four states allow for the cross-border prescribing of pharmaceuticals.
Power of advertising:
Dix acknowledged the excessive power of intensive advertising and marketing of the Ozempic drug as part of the recent craze for use of the drug by people for off-label use as a way to lose some body weight.
About semaglutide:
Semaglutide is in a class of medications called incretin mimetics that help the pancreas release the right amount of insulin when blood sugar levels are high.
Drugs with the active ingredient semaglutide treat Type 2 diabetes mellitus under the brand name Ozempic, an injectable, and Rybelsus, a tablet, as well as treat obesity under the brand name Wegovy.
BC PharmaCare coverage:
BC PharmaCare provides coverage for Ozempic as a second-line therapy for Type 2 diabetes to help patients manage blood-sugar levels when metformin is not effective.
The cost is not reimbursed for weight loss. Currently, pharmacies in BC can fill prescriptions for patients written by U.S. doctors if they are co-signed by a Canadian practitioner.
Protecting supply:
“The immediate action we are taking today will ensure patients in British Columbia and Canada requiring Ozempic to treat their Type 2 diabetes can continue to access it,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Through this new regulation, we will protect the supply of drugs in B.C. – not only for Ozempic, but for other drugs that may require it in the future.”
A new drug schedules (limits on sale) regulation has been enacted to impose conditions on the sale of semaglutide by pharmacies.
Through the new regulation, British Columbians, other Canadian citizens and permanent residents can buy Ozempic through BC pharmacies both in person and online. Others can only purchase the drug in person at a pharmacy. The regulation will help prevent online or mail-order sales of Ozempic to people who do not reside in Canada and who are not in B.C. to make the purchase.
The BC College of Pharmacists will be responsible for ensuring its registrants comply with the new regulation.
Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy:
Currently, the regulation includes semaglutide drugs, including Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, but other drugs can be added as needed to protect patients and ensure they continue to have regular access to and supply of the drug they need.
Pharmacists support:
“British Columbians’ access to a stable supply of therapeutic medications will ensure that patients are not at risk,” said Suzanne Solven, CEO and registrar, College of Pharmacists of British Columbia. “The college will work with the provincial government to ensure that all new regulatory requirements are met and practice standards continue to be followed by every pharmacist in B.C.”
Swift action:
Regulatory action will protect the supply of Ozempic in B.C. and Canada in direct response to information learned from a B.C. PharmaNet data review indicating that an unusually high percentage of prescriptions for Ozempic were coming from one practitioner in Nova Scotia and that these prescriptions were being dispensed by two internet pharmacies in British Columbia to American residents. Increasingly, United States customers are turning to Canadian online pharmacies to purchase drugs at prices lower than at home.
Continued monitoring:
“I have directed BC PharmaCare to continue to monitor and review the data regarding the number of dispenses of semaglutide drug prescriptions as a measure of the impact of this new regulation,” Dix said.