Health
Diabetes patients now have access to first generic GLP-1 medication: ‘More accessible and affordable’
Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 medications have gained widespread popularity for weight loss and diabetes control in recent years — but the spike in demand has made it difficult for some people to get the drugs.
To help eliminate supply chain snafus, the first-ever generic GLP-1 — a duplicate of Victoza — launched on June 25.
Manufactured by Novo Nordisk and distributed and sold by Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, Victoza is an injectable medication intended to treat type 2 diabetes. It has also been shown to promote weight loss in certain patients, according to Teva.
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While Ozempic and Wegovy contain semaglutide and Mounjaro has tirzepatide, Victoza has liraglutide as its active ingredient.
“By launching an authorized generic for Victoza (liraglutide injection 1.8mg), we are providing patients with type 2 diabetes another option for this important treatment,” said Ernie Richardsen, SVP, head of U.S. commercial generics at Teva, in a press release from the company.
The first-ever generic GLP-1, a version of Teva Pharmaceuticals’ Victoza, launched in late June 2024. (iStock; Getty Images)
The new authorized generic is the exact same medication as brand-name Victoza, but without the brand name on the label and sold at a lower price point, explained Alyssa Billingsley, PharmD, the senior director of Pharmacy Content at GoodRx in St. Louis, Missouri.
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Just as Wegovy is a higher-dose version of Ozempic to treat obesity, there is a higher-dose version of Victoza — sold under the brand name Saxenda — but a generic version is not yet available.
“This is a positive step forward to making GLP-1 agonist medications more accessible and affordable,” Billingsley told Fox News Digital via email.
Victoza is manufactured by Novo Nordisk and distributed and sold by Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals. (Getty Images)
This class of drugs has a growing list of beneficial applications beyond just treating type 2 diabetes, Billingsley noted, but their cost can be a barrier for many people to access them.
“In general, authorized generics are usually priced at a discount, potentially making them a more affordable option for some people,” she said.
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“However, some insurers may still prefer brand-name Victoza, even with a lower-cost authorized generic available.”
Patients should check with their insurance provider to confirm which options are covered and what they can expect to pay, Billingsley advised.
This class of drugs has a growing list of benefits, but cost can be a barrier for some patients. (iStock)
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurologist and longevity expert, agreed that the availability of the first generic GLP-1 is “great news.”
The generic’s lower price point is particularly beneficial for people who have chronic conditions like diabetes, Osborn noted — “where long-term medication use is necessary to prevent downrange effects like vascular disease, strokes and heart attacks, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, and obesity, the latter of which is also a ‘gateway disease,’” he said.
Differences between liraglutide and semaglutide
There are some differences between the generic version of Victoza and Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists, doctors noted.
The new drug’s active ingredient is liraglutide instead of Ozempic’s semaglutide — and it is approved for use in both adults and children age 10 and older who have diabetes.
Semaglutides are not yet approved for children.
While semaglutides like Ozempic are given once each week, liraglutide medications require daily dosing because they have a shorter half-life. (iStock)
There are also dosing differences — while semaglutides like Ozempic are given once each week, liraglutide medications require daily dosing because they have a shorter half-life, the doctor said.
“Each medication has pros and cons,” Osborn said. “At base level, however, the molecules are similar and subserve identical bodily functions — appetite suppression and the promotion of insulin secretion from the pancreas.”
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The most common side effects of liraglutides include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, indigestion and constipation, according to the company’s release. Other, more serious side effects are possible.
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Patients who experience adverse or lingering side effects should see a health care provider.
Fox News Digital reached out to Teva Pharmaceuticals and Novo Nordisk for comment.
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A new test could make it easier to detect high-risk prostate cancer cases earlier.
The blood test, called Stockholm3, is showing promise in clinical trials, beating out the traditional, standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden studied the test’s efficacy in more than 12,000 men — mostly Swedish or European — aged 50 to 74.
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All participants were tested with PSA and Stockholm3 and were followed for two years. During the follow-up period, 443 men were diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer.
Stockholm3 detected 90% of aggressive prostate cancer cases compared to 74% for PSA tests.
Stockholm3 detected 90% of aggressive prostate cancer cases compared to 74% for PSA tests. (iStock)
Stockholm3 missed “significantly fewer” serious cancer cases than PSA. The number of men incorrectly classified as high-risk was similar across both tests, according to a press release.
Thorgerdur Palsdottir, a researcher at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, wrote in a statement that one of the major challenges in prostate cancer is being able to identify the cases that are “truly dangerous.”
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“Our results show that Stockholm3 identifies significantly more aggressive cancer cases than PSA without increasing the number of unnecessary follow-ups,” she said.
“These results point toward a potential change in how prostate cancer screening can be conducted,” the researcher added. “A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures.”
“A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures,” a researcher commented. (iStock)
Study co-author Hari Vigneswaran, chief medical officer of Stockholm3-maker A3P Biomedical, commented on these “promising” findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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He confirmed that the PSA has been the standard for prostate cancer screening since the 1990s despite its “well-documented limitations.”
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“It leads to invasive and costly follow-up testing, contributes to over-diagnosis of non-aggressive cancers and, most importantly, it misses a substantial share of aggressive disease,” Vigneswaran said.
When aggressive prostate cancer is found while still confined in the prostate, the five-year survival is close to 100%. (iStock)
When aggressive prostate cancer is found while still confined in the prostate, the five-year survival rate is close to 100%, which highlights the importance of early detection, according to the doctor.
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Data from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER database show that metastatic prostate cancer has risen over the past decade, suggesting that “we have not improved early detection of the aggressive, curable disease that screening is meant to catch,” Vigneswaran said.
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“The goal of screening is to find the cancers that need treatment while they are still curable, without raising the number of men who screen positive but don’t have aggressive disease,” he said.
Stockholm3 could reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, according to the researcher. (Getty Images)
Stockholm3 could reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, according to the researcher.
The findings did have some limitations. Stockholm3 is an investigational device and is not available for sale in the U.S., Vigneswaran noted.
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The test estimates a man’s risk of aggressive prostate cancer, but a biopsy remains the gold standard for confirming the disease.
The company plans to seek FDA approval to use the test for routine screening and will “generate the evidence needed to support that pathway, including U.S. data,” Vigneswaran said.
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Scientists have linked eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli to better lung health.
There are two primary forms of vitamin K found in foods. The primary kind is vitamin K1, found mainly in vegetables, which plays a major role in the body’s blood-clotting process.
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Vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods, certain dairy products, eggs and meats and helps regulate calcium in the body and supports bone health.
Researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University examined whether dietary intake of vitamins K1 and K2 was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung function.
Leafy green vegetables are high in vitamin K1, a nutrient that researchers have observed conributes to improved lung health. (iStock)
“Chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases worldwide and were the third leading cause of death in 2019, accounting for 4 million deaths and affecting 454.6 million individuals globally,” the scientists reported in the introduction to their study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Although asthma and COPD can be managed with available treatments, neither condition is curable, underscoring the need for effective prevention strategies,” they added.
The leading cause of COPD is smoking, the Mayo Clinic reported. Exposure to other irritants, such as dust, chemicals and pollution, can also cause it.
The researchers analyzed data from 179,062 participants over a 10-and-a-half-year period and concluded that, “Higher dietary vitamin K1 intake was associated with better lung function and a lower rate of COPD.”
Researchers found that people who increased their vitamin K1 intake were less likely to develop COPD. (iStock)
Participants who consumed the most vitamin K1 had a 16% lower likelihood of COPD, the researchers observed. The effects were more pronounced in smokers and participants with high-risk occupations.
Consumption of vitamin K2 did not result in lower COPD rates.
“No association was observed for vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 intakes and asthma,” the researchers also wrote.
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Associate Professor Marc Sim, who was involved in the study, said that it’s likely Vitamin K activates a protein that may help keep lung tissue flexible and prevent damage.
Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that vitamin K1 directly reduces COPD risk, only that higher intake was associated with better lung health.
Researchers have associated higher consumption of leafy green vegetables with better lung function. (iStock)
Just one extra serving of leafy greens “is an achievable way to boost your vitamin K1 intake,” said Chengfeng Li, one of the study’s researchers.
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Other foods rich in vitamin K1 include collard greens, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and turnip greens.
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