Has Ozempic been approved for weight loss in UK?

Ozempic isn't licensed by the UK medicines regulator for weight loss specifically, but clinical studies in many patients have shown Ozempic to be safe for weight loss. We know it's the most effective drug available for patients with obesity to lose weight in the UK right now.

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What is Ozempic?

Ozempic is a simple, once a week, injection which contains the weight loss drug semaglutide and helps you lose weight. It's a pharmaceutical drug initially developed to help people with diabetes controlling and lowering blood sugar levels. However, clinical trials have shown that Ozempic is also a safe and effective treatment for obese patients to aid weight loss. Ozempic is the medication we use as part of the Juniper Weight Reset Programme - check your eligibility here.

How does Ozempic work?

Ozempic mimics a natural hormone in your body called GLP-1. This hormone is produced by your digestive system in response to eating food. It acts on both the brain and the digestive system to regulate how full you feel after a meal. It slows down the emptying of your stomach into the rest of your digestive system. GLP-1 also regulates insulin secretion in response to eating meals so that your blood sugar is better controlled (even lowering blood sugar levels) and reduces your appetite by signalling to your brain that you've eaten a meal. Ozempic acts just like this natural hormone to make you feel fuller for longer, reducing your cravings for more food, enhancing the way your body regulates blood sugar levels and the storage of fat. This can help patients lose weight.

How to use Ozempic for weight loss

You'll start on the lowest dose, 0.25mg, and then gradually increase over 8 weeks to the 1mg dose. This helps your body adjust to the medication in the first few weeks and reduces the severity of common side effects, such as nausea. Ozempic comes in a pre-filled injection that looks like a pen, along with single-use needles. It takes just 2 minutes to use and comes with full instructions. Simply put a new needle onto your Ozempic pen, select your dose and then hold the pen firmly against the skin of your tummy, upper thigh, or upper arm while you hold down the injector button. Finally, pop the used needle into the secure sharps container that we provide to you as part of the Juniper Weight Reset Programme. That's it!

Can Ozempic be used for weight loss?

Yes, Ozempic can be used to help people lose weight even though it was originally designed for the treatment of diabetes. Ozempic isn't licensed by the UK medicines regulator for weight loss specifically, but clinical studies in many patients have shown Ozempic to be safe for weight loss. We know it's the most effective drug available for patients with obesity to lose weight in the UK right now. The drug that's in Ozempic, semaglutide, is already approved for weight loss treatment in the UK, USA and European Union - the new versions of the product aren't available for use in the UK yet (that's why we currently use Ozempic as our medication for weight loss). We use Ozempic "off-label", which means we're using it for weight loss even though it's licensed for diabetes, because there's an abundance of clinical evidence that it's safe and effective for weight loss too.

Who can use Ozempic for weight loss?

Generally, Ozempic is suitable for those who are clinically obese or significantly overweight with a weight-related health condition. You can use Ozempic for weight loss as part of the Juniper Weight Reset Programme if you're aged between 18 and 75 and: you have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more (clinically obese); or you have a body mass index of 27 or more (significantly overweight) and you also have a medical condition that is often caused, or made worse, by excess body weight.

Who shouldn't use Ozempic for weight loss?

Most people can take Ozempic for weight loss safely, but there are some medicines and medical conditions that might make it unsuitable for you due to increased safety risks. Some of the reasons you shouldn't use Ozempic for weight loss (or we may need to give you special advice) are:

an allergy to any of the ingredients;

diabetes and taking insulin or certain other medicines;

kidney problems;

certain digestive system problems;

history of an eating disorder;

pregnancy, breastfeeding, or trying to have a baby.

This isn't a complete list, so when you have a consultation with a Juniper prescriber we'll make sure that Ozempic is suitable for your individual circumstances before prescribing it.

Ozempic for diabetes

Ozempic was approved and launched in 2019 for the treatment of diabetes for some patients where other medicines did not control their blood sugar well enough. This followed many years of laboratory tests and human clinical trials to prove it's safe and effective. Ozempic works to treat diabetes by increasing insulin secretion to control blood sugar levels, with the added benefit of weight loss - which also helps many patients with diabetes control their blood sugar better.

Is Ozempic effective for weight loss?

Ozempic has been shown to be effective for weight loss. Ozempic was tested in six key trials (called SUSTAIN 1hich involved 7,215 patients. 4,107 patients were treated with Ozempic and the others were in a placebo group with no active drug - or sometimes taking another diabetes treatment. Treatment with Ozempic demonstrated meaningful weight loss for up to 2 years compared to a placebo or the other diabetes treatments. Results were similar across different ages, genders, races and ethnicities. In these trials, after one year of treatment, up to 63% of patients lost 5% or more of their body weight and up to 27% of patients lost 10% or more of their body weight. In one particular trial, conducted over 2 years, Ozempic 1mg with lifestyle interventions (such as diet changes and exercise) was compared with patients who only had lifestyle interventions - patients lost an average of 4.9kg with Ozempic compared to losing only 0.5kg without the drug.

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The STEP-1 drug trial [reference 7] looked at higher doses of semaglutide (up to 2.4mg - Ozempic contains up to 1mg in the UK currently). More than 85% of participants taking semaglutide lost 5% of their body weight, nearly 70% achieved a 10% weight loss, 50% achieved 15% weight loss, and just under a third achieved a 20% weight loss.

How does Ozempic help with weight loss?

Ozempic helps you lose body weight by working with your brain and digestive system to make you feel fuller for longer after meals, reduce your food cravings, and regulate how your body uses sugar and stores fat. Ozempic is a pharmaceutical drug. Whilst it's beneficial to help you start your weight loss journey, lifestyle intervention and sustainable lifestyle changes are needed to ensure the weight stays off once you stop taking the drug. Juniper's healthcare professionals are here to support you every step of the way and make the results of the medication even better!

How long does it take to lose weight?

Everyone is different and starts the Juniper Weight Reset Programme at their own stage of their weight loss journey. Once you inject Ozempic, some people may find it takes several weeks to see any weight loss, yet others may see some weight loss within a week or two. The Juniper Weight Reset Programme, using Ozempic, is designed around consistent, sustained gradual weight loss over time, rather than fad diet plans that can often give you rapid early weight loss, but at the expense of reaching your long-term weight loss goals.

How much weight will I lose with Ozempic?

About a third of people who take Ozempic for weight loss will lose 10% or more of their body weight. Most people should expect to lose at least 5% of their starting body weight when using Ozempic for weight loss. We know that people lose weight differently, but those who see the highest weight reductions are those who are supported by healthcare professionals - making the lifestyle changes required for sustainable change much easier. This includes addressing diet, exercise and using behavioural sciences to adapt your food habits.

Other health benefits of Ozempic

Because of how Ozempic works to help your body regulate its food, sugar and fat metabolism, some other health benefits were also seen during drug trials:

Ozempic lowers blood sugar levels in 3 ways

Helps your pancreas release more insulin when your blood sugar is high

Ozempic sends signals to your pancreas making it more responsive to increases in your blood sugar levels. This means that when you eat a meal and your blood sugar increases as a result, your pancreas responds more quickly and releases more insulin to lower and improve blood sugar levels to their optimum state. Ozempic doesn't usually cause low blood sugar because it only triggers insulin when your blood sugar increases. Trials have shown this causes most patients' long-term blood sugar control to be significantly improved - which may reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes or complications from diabetes later in life.

Helps prevent your liver from storing too much sugar and fat

When your blood sugar stays high for longer than necessary, it causes your liver to turn it into glycogen and store this form of sugar in the liver and muscles. This can then be released when your blood sugar falls too low, or in response to vigorous exercise. However, it can also cause your liver to store this excess energy in your body as fat. Both Ozempic, together with lifestyle changes such as increased exercise, act to improve blood sugar levels which reduces this from happening.

Slows down food leaving your stomach

Ozempic sends signals to your stomach that make it empty into the other parts of your digestive system more slowly. This means that as your digestive system breaks down your food into sugars, it powers the cells in your body more smoothly and slowly too. You get a slow and smooth increase in your blood sugar, rather than large peaks and troughs. Overall, this improves blood glucose control and likely also reduces the chances of developing diabetes and the health consequences of complications on your body's organs.

Ozempic Reduces the risk of cardiovascular events

Ozempic has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, particularly in those already at higher risk with type 2 diabetes. The SUSTAIN-6 trial [link or footnote to 6 below] specifically looked at how Ozempic affects major cardiovascular events, such as strokes and heart attacks. In patients with type 2 diabetes who already had a high risk of heart attack and stroke, treating people with Ozempic resulted in the rates of death and non-fatal events was significantly lower among patients receiving the drug than those receiving the placebo.

Ozempic alternatives for weight loss

There are some other weight loss medications available that provide an option to treat people living with obesity prior to the extreme option of bariatric surgery. All of these should be appropriately considered for your individual circumstances and prescribed by a qualified healthcare professional.

Rybelsus

Rybelsus is a tablet form of semaglutide (the ingredient in Ozempic) that needs to be taken daily, rather than a weekly injection. It is not currently licensed for the treatment of weight loss in the UK. Whilst it has been shown to be effective for weight loss, trials [Reference 8 below] showed that it was around 30-40% less effective for weight loss than Ozempic.

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Wegovy is a higher-dose injection of semaglutide (the same active ingredient as Ozempic) and has been shown to be more effective for weight loss than Ozempic in trials, due to the higher dosage [reference 7]. It has already been approved as safe and effective for weight loss by medicines regulators in the USA, UK and EU. It was launched in the USA in 2021, but is not currently available in the UK at the time of writing (June 2022).

Metformin

Metformin is a drug that has been used to treat diabetes for many years and helps your body produce and use insulin more effectively. It has been shown to have some positive effects on body weight in some clinical trials, however the results and side effects can be very variable and unpredictable. This means metformin is unlikely to be a good choice for a safe and effective weight loss treatment.

Trulicity

Trulicity contains dulaglutide and is injected weekly, like Ozempic. It works in a very similar way to Ozempic and has broadly similar results for weight loss in some drug trials, though there's less data available for weight loss than there is for Ozempic. It's currently licensed in the UK for the treatment of diabetes, but not for weight loss.

Saxenda

Saxenda contains liraglutide, which works in the same way as semaglutide (the ingredient in Ozempic) but requires an injection every day because the drug is much shorter-acting. Saxenda is licensed for weight loss in the UK, but clinical trial results for weight loss show that Saxenda is slightly less effective than Ozempic.

Orlistat

Orlistat is a drug which blocks certain enzymes in your gut which normally work to break down fats from the food you eat and enable this to enter your bloodstream. Blocking these enzymes means you absorb fewer calories from the fats you eat, and this results in weight loss. Orlistat is significantly less effective than Ozempic and people often have some annoying digestive system side-effects (include severe to mild digestion discomfort issues) which can result in patients stopping treatment before getting weight loss results.

Other diabetes medications that may cause weight loss

Some other diabetes medicines, such as those that increase the amount of sugar removed from your body by your kidneys in urine (e.g. canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin) have been shown to cause small reductions in body weight. However, the weight loss results are too small to consider this particularly effective.

Can Ozempic cause extreme weight loss?

Not usually. Extreme weight loss is generally also unhealthy weight loss.

Because of the way that Ozempic works to mimic a natural hormone in your body GLP-1 (rather than older drugs which focus on heavily suppressing appetite) extreme or inappropriate weight loss hasn't been seen during clinical trials. Ozempic helps you lose weight at a more sustainable pace.

What is the dose of Ozempic for weight loss?

The Ozempic dose to lose weight starts at 0.25mg and gradually increases to 1mg over a number of weeks. This ensures your body has time to gradually adjust tho the effects of Ozempic and reduces the severity and likelihood of side effects when starting treatment.

Ozempic starting dose

Ozempic treatment for weight loss starts at 0.25mg once per week. You stay at that low dose for at least the first 4 weeks of treatment whilst your body gets used to the drug.

Ozempic maintenance dose

After starting on Ozempic low dose you will increase to 0.5mg for a further 4 weeks and then move onto the 1mg weekly maintenance dose for the rest of your treatment plan - provided everything is going according to plan. There's the potential to increase the dose above 1mg if you healthcare professional team and clinical prescriber consider it's appropriate for you.

Before taking Ozempic

Before you use Ozempic it's important to always read the leaflet from the manufacturer that comes inside the pack before taking your first dose. Remember that because we use Ozempic "off-label", the leaflet talks a lot about using it for treating people with diabetes, and that's okay because the way you actually use Ozempic injections is the same. The leaflet comes with full instructions including pictures on how to use the pen properly, how to store and dispose of your pens, and what side-effects to look out for. If you need some more help or re-assurance with using Ozempic for the first time, then our Juniper Customer Support team is also here to help guide you. Always consult a specialist Ozempic weight loss prescriber, such as the Juniper team, before using Ozempic. We will ask you for the right information to assess whether Ozempic is safe and likely to be effective for you as an individual. You can begin by completing our eligibility questionnaire.

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