Do you still remember the "** needle" semaglutide that was once popular before? The reporter recently paid attention to the fact that in 2024, this hypoglycemic drug, which used to be available across the ocean, which made diabetics trapped in "can't buy" and made beauty seekers regard it as a "miracle drug", has actually been reduced in price. Take 3 per stickFor example, the price of 0ml (4mg) has been reduced from more than 1,000 yuan to less than 800 yuan. "It's not even half as popular as before," Liu Hao, deputy chief physician of the Department of Endocrinology of Nanjing First Hospital, also expressed the same feelings.
Have the people who have received the "** injection" have been reduced? Why is "** needle" no longer so sought after now? Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News reporters conducted an investigation.
Photo source: Visual China.
*The drop is not small.
Some people are ineffective, and some people have obvious gastrointestinal reactions.
Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, is one of the many hormones released by the small intestine after eating, which can promote the secretion of insulin when acting on the pancreas, slow down the emptying of the stomach when acting on the digestive tract, and produce a feeling of satiety when acting on the hypothalamus. Therefore, drugs that mimic GLP-1 (such as semaglutide) can activate GLP-1 receptors in the human body, which not only regulates blood sugar and diabetes, but also slows down digestion and suppresses appetite.
It has been more than five years since the "** needle" entered the global public eye. As early as 2017, semaglutide was approved for marketing in the United States for patients with type 2 diabetes. In June 2021, it was approved for weight loss indications. Subsequently, its weight-loss indications approved overseas showed good results, and it was soon regarded as the "best miracle drug" by the world's leading people. After a period of time, for those who want to obtain the best effect in China, they will mostly use the overseas way, and the supply will exceed the demand.
Looking at China, in April 2021, semaglutide was officially approved for marketing in China. Currently, semaglutide is only approved for type 2 diabetes in China. "This also means that during the period of the explosion, the medication space for diabetic patients was squeezed to a certain extent, and many hospitals had a shortage," industry insiders told reporters. However, entering 2024, semaglutide's ** is on a roller coaster. Taking the 3ml specification of each stick as an example, the price has been reduced from more than 1,000 yuan to less than 800 yuan.
Now I don't think it's even half as popular as it used to be. Liu Hao, deputy chief physician of the Department of Endocrinology of Nanjing First Hospital, also expressed the same feelings. The reason is that, in Liu Hao's view, although the current clinical studies have shown that semaglutide has a good safety, it does not mean that it does not have a high risk of using semaglutide to the gastrointestinal tract, such as bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and even vomiting, so for ** patients, the use of semaglutide ***
In addition, GLP-1 agonists, including semaglutide, have been found to stimulate thyroid C cell proliferation in animal experiments, so the drug is contraindicated in patients with medullary thyroid cancer and patients with type 2 multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome. "In addition, after using this drug for a long time, the appetite suppressant and weight loss effect will gradually decrease. After stopping the drug, if you don't pay attention to diet and exercise, the weight ** will also exist. Liu Hao said.
*Needle" is not a small risk, but the 37-year-old Xu Hai still tried to play for a while. Chen Hai, who weighs more than 200 pounds, is super "overweight", combined with hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and he chose this drug under the advice of his doctor. However, the "appetite suppression" that manifested itself in others was not obvious to Chen Hai. Therefore, it did not achieve any ** effect.
It is still very blind and undesirable to use a drug to **, especially for some people who are not fat at all. Liu Hao has been paying attention to it for the past two years, and she noticed that if it is only used for **, sixty or seventy percent of people will ** after stopping the drug. Wang Xia is a typical example. Under the introduction of a colleague, she had been taking semaglutide continuously for half a year, "**But after stopping the drug, I, like the colleague I introduced, lost almost 20 pounds and rose back, because I couldn't control my mouth at all", Wang Xia said helplessly.
Misuse and abuse are still ongoing.
The 98-pound girl has gained 3 pounds and wants to try.
Liu Hao said that in the endocrinology department of a regular hospital, semaglutide is still prescribed in strict accordance with the indications, but the reporter noticed that on the e-commerce platform, the sales chaos is difficult to eliminate.
On January 29, the reporter searched on multiple e-commerce platforms and found that the purchase was "simple and convenient". Although you need to issue an online prescription, you only need to check "type 2 diabetes" and simply answer "whether you have used the purchased drug without allergies or adverse reactions" and "whether there are contraindications to the use of drugs" to easily prescribe and purchase drugs directly.
Not only that, although there is a cooling momentum, the indiscriminate use and abuse still make some endocrinologists call it "irrational and undesirable." ”
Semaglutide is a weekly preparation, i.e., it is used once a week. However, Chen Qi, who was "eager to reduce his heart", felt that he could not "drop the scale" after the injection on the first day, and injected himself once a day for several days, nausea and vomiting, but his appetite was still not significantly controlled. Chen Qi recalled that he did not rush to the hospital outpatient clinic until he had a panicked reaction. After the visit, the symptoms were relieved only after the emergency hanging water to promote excretion.
Liu Hao also treated a girl who was engaged in kindergarten education in the outpatient clinic. The girl is less than 30 years old, and the reason why she is interested in "** needle" and walks into the clinic is very simple, just because in one month, her weight has risen from 98 pounds to 101 pounds, and she is anxious to love beauty. "I searched for ** method on the Internet, and I accidentally saw that I could get an injection and I had no appetite, so I would definitely want to give it a try. But in Liu Hao's opinion, the girl's body mass index was completely within the normal range, and there was no hyperlipidemia, high blood sugar, etc., so she refused to prescribe medication.
Oral semaglutide is also approved.
But the indication is still not **.
Just a few days ago, on January 26, Novo Nordisk Semaglutide tablets were approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), which is the first oral GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist approved for marketing in China. However, it is worth noting that the indication of this oral drug is still only used for type 2 diabetes, not for **. According to the analysis of industry insiders, oral tablets have great advantages in transportation, storage, and user acceptance (without injections), and if they are approved for weight loss indications, they may further raise the ceiling of the market.
Photo source: Visual China.
Liu Hao pointed out that in fact, the so-called "** should be subdivided into two concepts: fat loss and weight loss." "Fat loss is all about losing fat. Weight loss includes fat, water, and muscle. Liu Hao said that if a person loses weight rapidly in a short period of time, most of the loss is water and muscle. "Because water is the fastest to lose, and muscles are heavier, but at the same time, water is also the fastest. The purpose of our so-called 'loss' should be to lose useless fat, not water and muscle. ”
If it's fat loss, it's not that easy**. Liu Hao recalled that after Xu Hai tried semaglutide with quite poor results, he still "honestly" chose to change himself by adjusting his lifestyle. In fact, since September last year, I have successfully lost nearly 40 pounds.
Experts also reminded again that the clinical use of drugs such as semaglutide for diabetes prevention is still based on the fact that the patient has reached severe obesity, especially central obesity, and the insulin level is significantly elevated, and the patient is indeed at high risk of diabetes or is already pre-diabetic through the doctor's assessment, and has other obesity-related complications, and the effect of lifestyle intervention is not ideal. "There are many causes of obesity, and it is best to rule out secondary obesity first, and then use medication under the guidance of a doctor through lifestyle intervention, when the effect is not obvious. Lifestyle intervention should run through the whole process, otherwise it will follow. For people who are not obese, if they only pursue the so-called 'thin for beauty', they should not buy and use this drug privately. After all, it is a drug, and when all the indicators of the body are normal, it is not recommended to rely on drugs to seek beauty," Liu Hao said.
The names of the patients in this article have been changed).
Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News reporter Lu Yanlin.
Proofread by Li Haihui.