Blocked From Selling Off-Brand Ozempic, Telehealth Startups Embrace a Less Effective Drug
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Summary
After online clinics lost the ability to sell exact copies of patented GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, liraglutide has become the latest darling for online clinics that offer prescription weight-loss medication to patients.
Liraglutide, a GLP-1 agonist drug, has been available in the US since 2010 and was sold by Novo Nordisk under the brand names Victroza and Saxenda, before it became available in generic form last year.
Doctors say liraglutide is less effective than some newer GLP-1 drugs, and the fact that it must be injected daily, rather than weekly, could also hinder patient success.
Despite this, online clinics like Hims have begun selling the drug as a potential weight-loss alternative, with compounding pharmacies like Olympia Pharmaceuticals now producing the medication in anticipation of rising demand.
