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Comment by biosboiii | Hacker News Reader

Happy to see some positive news stories regarding Ozempic/Semaglutide.

I really dislike that most stories try to taint it in the "diet trend", "TikTok challenge" light, obesity is a serious illness which is extremely unhealthy and leads to many many preventable deaths, this drug is a miracle.

And yeah, there shortages, but then the drug stores shall give out this drug to those who need it the most, and not who pays the most. It's not like the US healthcare system is fair anyways. And also the suppliers can ramp up production (as they are already doing).

Friendly reminder: The STEP 5 trial of semaglutide showed that even in long-term usage a sort of "cutoff" BMI is reached, so even skinny/normal bodied people who take semaglutide don't drop to an anorexic level BMI, but stay above the 18.5 line (after which you are considered underweight) [1].

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02026-4/figures/2

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Indeed, here here. As manufacturing capacity ramps up, and cost approaches $1-$5/month/person, it is an antidote against an economy wired to profit off of miswired reward centers. Success is comin'. Healthier humans, less spending on poor nutrition, lower healthcare costs and improved health at scale. There is even robust evidence that GLP-1 agonists reduce addictive consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and opioids [1] [2].

It's the next metformin imho (cost to benefit ratio). We should be scaling up production like it's a war effort.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40558601 (citation)

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40357197 ("u/comova: 1. GLP-1 drugs appear to dramatically reduce addictive drive across substances. 2. GLP-1 drugs can reach vastly more patients than existing medications and they have positive mental health benefits for anxiety and depression. 3. This is our first ever opportunity to make a big dent in the addiction crisis, which kills 770,000 people a year between opioids, cigarettes, and alcohol.")

I stopped binge drinking as a side-effect of semaglutide. I'm down 20kg and don't feel like shit all the time.

Heh this drug sounds like an economy destroyer, companies are hooked on selling addiction and this is breaking the cycle.

There are multiple GLP-1 agonists on the market (five approved by the FDA for glycemic control, two of those also for weight loss) so I expect competition to drive down prices.

An interesting fact is that as long as there is a shortage of a compound, pharmacies can make a version using compounding. If demand always outstrips supply, compounding will be permitted.

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/glp1-compounding-phar...

> miswired reward centers

I wish we'd finally start calling obesity food addiction. It's an addiction that we've allowed to be economically viable, no different than alcohol and tobacco.

There isn't a shortage of the drug, there is a shortage of auto-injector pens, and it is impacted multiple medications. If you go vile+subcutaneous syringe it bypasses this limitation and is readily available.

The auto-injector pens are great, but when people need medication, it should be offered optionally with or without.

> Happy to see some positive news stories regarding Ozempic/Semaglutide.

Have you really not seen any? The ones I've read over the last year were universally positive.

> I really dislike that most stories try to taint it in the "diet trend", "TikTok challenge" light

What? Source on either of that? It's not a diet and certainly not a TikTok challenge.

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