[bedast]

Yeah, feel free to spend the $1200/mo for it then. Because that's off-label use when there are drugs in this class with on-label weight loss use. And sometime this year, tirzepatide is expected to be among them.

The coupon was changed because people were abusing it. This drug is approved for diabetes, not weight loss.

[__Parfait__]

Don't worry, it will be approved for the latter soon enough, perhaps under a different brand. No way to put this genie back in the bottle, sorry.

[bedast]

Yes, this is what Novo Nordisk did with Victoza around 2014 with the release of Saxenda. And then again with Ozempic around 2021 with Wegovy. These weight loss versions exist. And there will be one likely this year based on tirzepatide from Lilly (I haven't looked up if they have a name for it yet).

[counttheforks]

Why are you defending the price gouging of the american healthcare system? Do you really only care about yourself?

[bedast]

I care that many people I know are losing glycemic control because they're going on a waiting list for their medication while Kim K and Elon Musk and TikTok promote easy mode cosmetic weight loss.

[serf]

if someone is 'losing glycemic control' because they can't get a specific new en-vogue med, then their doctor is doing a poor job.

there is a very big problem with blaming the suffering who find relief with this drug -- regardless of what their ailment is -- rather than blaming the systems and processes that lead to a supposed shortage that urged a price adjustment.

forgive me for diving into conspiracy for a second here..

do you really think for a second that the pharmaceutical groups responsible for this class of drug do not have the facilities to ramp up production?

They absolutely do -- the problem here is that since it's a gold-mine there is even more cash capture to occur with an added scarcity element, hence the price adjustment.

The price adjustment wasn't to champion the diabetics over the obese, it was to make more MONEY.

[bedast]

You are among the people just learning about this class of drug. It's been around since 2004 (Byetta). I've been taking it since 2012 (Victoza). Even then, it was known to promote weight loss (Saxenda approved around 2014).

This is not a new hotness. And many diabetics have used this drug class for a long time.

And yeah, you're jumping into conspiracy theory. Ramping up production would likely take significant investment. Do they have the resources? Probably. But given the weight loss benefit is temporary (seriously, it is, ask anyone who has used one of these drugs for a significant amount of time), do you think they're going to sink significant investment into production when demand is going to wane in a few years? Well, you see, their investors are going to say no, and they hold the final say.

[BeFlatXIII]

Seems like the problem is that not enough is produced to meet real demand instead of mere regulator-approved demand.