Ozempic Seeks to Expand Affordable Access to Weight-Loss Medication in Australia, Facing Opposition from Medical Professionals

Doctors are expressing concerns over a Danish company’s proposal to extend the use of its popular weight-loss medication to children struggling with obesity.

Mike Doustdar, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, has urged the federal government to broaden the taxpayer-funded access to their well-known drug, Ozempic. However, general practitioners argue there are more suitable alternatives available.

Doustdar emphasized Australia’s potential to address the obesity crisis, stating, “We have the capability not only to treat obesity but also to prevent it on a large scale.”

Speaking at the National Press Club yesterday, he remarked, “Individuals with lower body weight tend to experience fewer health issues and related concerns.”

He added, “The general consensus is that if weight management is achieved, it can lead to savings in other areas of healthcare.”

But of course, his company’s product isn’t free. Ozempic and other so-called GLP-1 drugs can cost more than $400 a month, and once you’re on them, you’re typically advised to stay on them.

“They are expensive and there’s a lot of other treatments available that might be more appropriate and a better first line,” Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Michael Wright said.

Currently, only people with Type 2 diabetes get subsidised access to the drugs through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Novo Nordisk claims millions more would benefit, including adolescents whose increasing rates of obesity in Western countries is affecting life expectancy.

“In general, I think it’s a ticking bomb that our children and adolescents are right now becoming more and more obese across the world, and we need to find solutions,” Doustdar said. 

“And the first and foremost solutions are some of the things I spoke to in my speech, healthier environments, healthier schools, taking care of exercise and food intake.

“But we are also, of course, making sure that our products are being tested and tried on adolescents and making sure that they’re safe. 

“So if support and help is needed on that front, it is also available so we don’t discriminate the age.”

Wright said “we certainly need more evidence” before going down that path, especially when the company’s own advertising says Ozempic is not for children.

Subsidising the category of drugs on a massive scale would likely cripple the federal health budget.

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