Journal article
The ethics of Ozempic and Wegovy
- Abstract:
- Semaglutide, sold under the brand names of Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, is one of the most popular drugs on the market. Manufactured by Novo Nordisk, semaglutide is the newest in a family of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists used most commonly to treat type II diabetes. To date, the results of semaglutide for the treatment of type II diabetes have been overwhelmingly positive. It is for the drug's effects on appetite suppression and weight loss, however, that have led its surge in popularity, with many hailing semaglutide as the new 'miracle drug for weight loss'. Despite its popularity, both the governmental and popular reception to the drug has largely been mixed. In this paper, we address a range of ethical concerns and argue that while many are legitimate, they do not provide conclusive reason not to prescribe semaglutide for weight loss.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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- Files:
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 318.9KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1136/jme-2024-110374
Authors
+ Wellcome Trust
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/029chgv08
- Grant:
- WT203132/Z/16/Z
+ National University Health System
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/05tjjsh18
- Grant:
- NUS Startup Grant /NUHSRO/2022/078/Startup/13
- Publisher:
- BMJ Publishing Group
- Journal:
- Journal of Medical Ethics More from this journal
- Place of publication:
- England
- Publication date:
- 2025-01-23
- Acceptance date:
- 2024-11-28
- DOI:
- EISSN:
-
1473-4257
- ISSN:
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0306-6800
- Pmid:
-
39848681
- Language:
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English
- Pubs id:
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2081388
- Local pid:
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pubs:2081388
- Deposit date:
-
2025-01-30
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Ryan and Savulescu
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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