Duraglutide (Trulicity) is back in the news because of a global shortage of supply, as is the alternative Liraglutide (Victoza), due to popularisation of the medications for weight loss as modelled in social media.
Pharmac announced in their notices on 24 October 2023 that they "only secure enough stock for people currently taking these medicines". An article in Pharmacy Today, Kaitiaki Rongoa O Te Wa on 7 November 2023, by Natasha Jojoa Burling, describes a doubling in prescription in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last two years, which Chair of the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Board of Trustees, Dr John Baker, feels is good news because of how beneficial the medication can be to people with type 2 diabetes. He notes that there is research showing reduction in risk of death from heart disease and much slowed progression to kidney failure. Dr Baker is concerned about the shortage of medications, reiterating how people with diabetes have waited to gain access to more modern and effective treatment noting that they "weren't getting proper treatment" for a long time.
https://pharmac.govt.nz/medicine-funding-and-supply/medicine-notices/dulaglutide/
https://www.pharmacytoday.co.nz/article/news/dulaglutide-use-doubles-supply-dwindles
