METAIRIE, La. — When a patient told us that he had to travel to four different pharmacies to get his weight loss injection prescription filled, we decided to see why. It's part of an ongoing shortage, but there’s a possible solution.
Pharmacists at Majoria Drugs in Metairie, say there's a limited supply of the injections for diabetes and medical weight management patients.
“Let's say I need four or five boxes. I put in an order for four or five boxes, I might get one box. I might get no box,” said Majoria Pharmacist B.J. Guidry about what his wholesalers have in stock.
The shortage has been going on for a while. In fact, one patient even used a pharmacy in Canada to have it filled.
At Majoria Drugs, they have one box of Mounjaro and one box of Ozempic. Both of those medications for diabetes have already been promised to patients. They currently had no boxes of Wegovy or Zepbound, the two weight loss and weight management medications.
And they are too expensive just to stockpile before a prescription is sent in.
“The product is $1,000 a box. So, if you were to have five of each strength, you might have $20,000 sitting in the refrigerator hoping to use, your refrigerator becomes like a safe with money in it,” Guidry laughs.
So, Eli Lilly, the makers of Mounjaro, recently rolled out an ad campaign aimed at people who use the injections, for what they call cosmetic weight loss, seeming to say that may be contributing to the shortage.
“There is definitely a national shortage, because obesity is the biggest problem in this country, which causes diabetes, and heart disease, and knee for joint replacements, and sleep apnea,” explained Dr. Tom Lavin, a weight management physician and bariatric surgeon with Surgical Specialists of Louisiana. https://whyweight.com/galleria-wellness-weight-loss/
Dr. Lavin says his practice does not prescribe the medications to people who want to lose a few pounds for a wedding, or school reunion, but it's important for the health of another group that is not medically obese.
“The majority of Americans are overweight. If you're overweight, it's having a deleterious effect on your health, and quality of life. So, that population that wants to lose 25 to 50 pounds, they're going to be much healthier,” said Dr. Lavin.
He has Galleria Medical Pharmacy which compounds the medication in a day, and there is no shortage.
“That's why they're there, to fill the gap when the national suppliers can not. These are generics, but they're the exact same peptide, exact same drug,” said Dr. Lavin.
The price at smaller compounding pharmacies is much less expensive than the brand, but since they may not take insurance, you'll have to check to see if your health plan will reimburse you after you pay out of pocket.
Studies are now ongoing for this class of drugs in a pill form, or one that dissolves under the tongue.
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