Attendance an online digital event on Oct. 03, 2024 entitled “The Oxempic® Pandemic: time to review our ethical obligations. An examination of drug shortages, off-label prescribing and patient needs”. The event was offered by International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).

Description: One of the most severe global shortages has been the supply of the anti-diabetic injectable drug Ozempic® (semaglutide). Launched in 2017, short supply began in early 2022, owing to a rise in off-label prescribing for weight loss and the influence of social media. Some have described it as a 'tsunami'. Documentaries depict desperate efforts to acquire the product. In reply to the enormous demand, some pharmacists have made an unexpected attempt to compound the medicine in-house. 

This situation has prompted various questions regarding professional ethics in patient safety and pharmacy. In this session, panelists examined ethical concerns surrounding off-label prescribing, extemporaneous compounding, and patient safety.

Moderator:

- Maria Allinson, Senior Lecturer Sheffield University, UK

Panellists:

- Betty Chaar, Associate Professor, The University of Sydney, Australia.

- Sanya Ram, Senior Lecturer University of Auckland, New Zealand.

- Roche, Cicely, Associate Professor in Practice of Pharmacy & Trinity College Dublin Fellow in Education for Sustainable Development School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Panoz Institute, Trinity College Dublin. Centre for Academic Practice, Trinity Teaching and Learning, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

- Jessica Pace, Associate Lecturer Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney, Australia.