Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of supply levels of (a) ozempic, (b) trulicity, (c) victoza, (d) Rybelsus and (e) Tresiba 100 FlexTouch Pen.

Medicine supply issues are caused by a wide range of factors as the production of medicines is complex and highly regulated and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards. The Department has well-established processes in place to manage disruption to supply.

There are supply issues with GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide (Ozempic and Rybelsus), dulaglutide (Trulicity) and liraglutide (Victoza) in the United Kingdom, which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes. The Department has issued Medicine Supply Notifications for Ozempic (semaglutide injection) and Trulicity (dulaglutide injection), advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients and to use these medicines for their licensed indications. Additional Medicine Supply Notifications will also be issued soon for Victoza (liraglutide injection) and Rybelsus (semaglutide tablets) advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.

There is a supply disruption affecting Tresiba FlexTouch (insulin degludec) pens in the UK, which are licensed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in adults, adolescents and children from the age of one years old. The Department has issued a Medicine Supply Notification, advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients on Tresiba FlexTouch pens and to use Tresiba Penfill cartridges as an alternative.