Trulicity, Ozempic, other diabetes drugs in short supply at Erie-area pharmacies
People with diabetes who take injectable medications like Trulicity and Ozempic have been scrambling to find their next dose.
Erie-area pharmacies, like others across the country, can't get enough of the popular drugs, which are also used to lose weight. Five local drug stores contacted last Thursday were all out of at least some dosages of Trulicity, and a couple of pharmacies didn't have any of the drug in stock.
"It's been going on for the last six-to-eight months and it's all of the injectable drugs: Ozempic, Trulicity, Mounjaro," said Tim Zurn, a LECOM Health pharmacist and manager of Colonial Pharmacy. "For the first time I can remember, I'm telling patients to call around to other pharmacies."
The shortages are so common that Dr. David Hutzel's office has been bombarded with calls from patients who can't get the drug at their local pharmacy and are asking where they can fill their prescription.
"It's gotten to the point that my staff can't jump through all these hoops," said Hutzel, a physician with UPMC's Greenfield Internal Medicine — West. "We end up printing the prescription and having the patient shop around."
The cause for the shortages is demand far exceeding supply. Since the first injectable drug was approved for use about 10 years ago, they have helped people with diabetes control their blood-sugar levels and, in many cases, lose weight.
They are so effective as a weight-loss drug that doctors are prescribing them to patients who are obese but don't have diabetes.
"I have had patients respond to these drugs like a medical gastric bypass," Hutzel said. "I had one patient, when I went into the exam room, I literally didn't recognize her, she had lost so much weight."
Even though insurance companies often don't cover the cost of these drugs unless the patient has been diagnosed with diabetes, the demand has continued to increase faster than drug manufacturers can produce the medicines.
What happens if you miss a weekly injection?
The concern is that patients with diabetes might have to go longer than a week between some weekly injections, Hutzel said. Though the health consequences of missing or delaying doses aren't as severe as missing insulin injections, it can have an effect on the body.
When the gap between injections is long enough, the patient's A1C level could rise, an indication they are not managing their blood-sugar levels.
"If you go a couple of weeks without an injection, when you reintroduce the medicine you have to go back to a smaller dose and work your way back up," Hutzel said.
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And there are limited options available if a patient can't find their particular drug in their usual dosage.
Though the drugs are all called GLP-1 receptor agonists, they are not identical and should not be used interchangeably. Insurance companies also will not approve a prescription for, for instance, two 1.5 milligram doses a week to replace a single 3 milligram dose, Zurn said.
"I am seeing patients who typically might get the 4.5 milligram dose have to go with a 3 milligram dose in the belief that something is better than nothing," Zurn said.
How long will these drugs be in short supply?
The shortages are expected to last through 2024, said Eli Lilly, the company that manufactures Trulicity.
In order to decrease your chances of missing a weekly injection, Zurn suggested to order your refill the day after you take your second-to-last injection.
"I would call the pharmacy as soon as I'm down to one dose," Zurn said. "That way you have almost two weeks before you need it."
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Trulicity, Ozempic shortages reach Erie PA pharmacies
