B.C. wants federal clamp on weight and diabetes drug Ozempic being exported to U.S.
Global News
B.C. wants a federal government clampdown on prescription rules after thousands of doses of the weight loss drug Ozempic were sold to Americans by one Nova Scotia practitioner.
British Columbia wants a federal government clampdown on prescription rules after thousands of doses of the hyped weight loss drug Ozempic went to Americans, doled out by a single practitioner in Nova Scotia.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said Tuesday that he’s asking provincial and federal regulators to look into two Metro Vancouver pharmacies and the Nova Scotia practitioner responsible for thousands of Ozempic prescriptions issued to Americans in the first two months of 2023.
Though the injectable drug is prescribed mainly to treat diabetes, Dix said Ozempic’s weight loss side-effects have been hyped up by advertising and celebrity-driven social media chatter.
“The drug’s popularity on social media, and the, I think, almost unprecedented campaign of advertising for the drug, is driving a surge in demand and is resulting in shortages of Ozempic, not yet in British Columbia, but in other jurisdictions, including the United States,” Dix said.
He said the province is taking action to ensure patients in B.C. continue to have access to the drug and avoid potential shortages.
In the first two months of 2023, Dix said upwards of 15 per cent of Ozempic prescriptions in B.C. were being filled for American patients who receive the medication by mail.
Dix said the situation involving Ozempic is “unacceptable,” and noted that less than half a per cent of other drugs in B.C. are prescribed to non-residents.
“We would never have sufficient supply of Ozempic in British Columbia to satisfy the needs of the American market,” he said. “We have to protect patients here.”
About 850 jobs jobs are being cut at Statistics Canada, plus a portion of the executive team, the federal agency said in a written statement.
China's state media is calling on the Canadian government to set a foreign policy path independent of the United States — what it calls “strategic autonomy.”
Three people accused of misconduct over the $214-million renovation for Winnipeg’s police headquarters can’t be compelled to testify in the inquiry probing the matter.
Properties in and around Halifax are driving the growth, with properties in the municipality now worth $113.8 billion, more than half the provincial total.
'The pilot was never to test the quantitative aspect of the program,' Anandasangaree told reporters Monday. 'As an overall pilot, I believe it is successful.'
Sonder Bridge, a new non-profit organization in Edmonton, builds care packages and then hands them out, along with a hot meal, once or twice a month to those living rough.
Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness is raising concerns about the recommendations including the establishment of a municipally owned corporation to manage Calgary's water system.
A new report shows that even though the COVID-19 pandemic ended several years ago, the increase in issues around mental health and substance use still continue.
A coroner's inquest into the 2024 death of a Saskatchewan man who was working at a wind farm construction site in New Brunswick has begun.
The proposed changes, which were recommended by the Transportation Standing Committee, aim to impose new licensing requirements on ridesharing services.
The case of an Ontario woman who has been missing for four years after she was abducted may have ties to Quebec and the United Arab Emirates.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones launched a plan to spend $1.8 billion on primary care — rolling out more physicians, nurse practitioners and multidisciplinary teams.
Carney is travelling to B.C. for the meeting, along with Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, whose relationship with Coastal First Nations got off to a rocky start.