Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor the availability, (b) notify relevant stakeholders of shortages and (c) help ensure adequate supply of (i) Victoza and (ii) other medications for patients with diabetes.

We are aware of global supply issues with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) including Victoza (liraglutide), which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes. We have issued guidance in the form of a Medicine Supply Notification, addressing all GLP-1 RAs advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines. Further guidance has been issued through a National Patient Safety Alert which provides further background and clinical information and actions for providers. This guidance was futher updated on 3 January 2024.

Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RA medicines that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss.

The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines. We have also added some of these products to the list of medicines that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the United Kingdom.

We are continuing to work closely with manufacturers and others working in the supply chain to help ensure the continued supply of these medicines for UK patients, for example by asking suppliers to expedite deliveries. Supplies of Rybelsus (semaglutide) have been boosted to support demand from new patients with type 2 diabetes, alongside patients switching from Victoza injections.