The RACGP has told GPs not to start patients on semaglutide or dulaglutide amid an ongoing global supply shortage fuelled by off-label prescribing for weight loss. 

It follows a new warning from the TGA late last week that semaglutide (Ozempic) will not be available in Australia from mid-November until the end of March next year. 

Data show that more than 940,000 scripts of semaglutide were dispensed under the PBS in the 12 months to September this year, with an average 78,000 scripts dispensed each month.   

Similarly, nearly 780,000 PBS scripts for dulaglutide (Trulicity) were dispensed in the same period or about 65,000 a month.