In the News...
**Great News!**
The FDA has officially announced that Eli Lilly's weight-loss medication, **Zepbound**, is no longer in shortage! If you've been waiting to refill your prescription or start your weight-loss journey with Zepbound, now is the time to act. Quantities may still be limited as supplies stabilize, so **order as soon as possible** to ensure you have what you need. Contact us today to place your order or schedule a consultation!
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From Hallandale Pharmacy
Tirzepatide Compounded Injectables: Available as of 10/13/24
Dear Practitioners and Prescribers,
We are pleased to announce that as of October 13, 2024 our Tirzepatide compounded injectables are available!
We welcome your patient orders!
Following the FDA's re-evaluation of the shortage, we can continue to provide a compounded solution for our patients. At Hallandale Pharmacy, we prioritize regulatory compliance and will maintain a close watch on the situation, ensuring that we provide the most up-to-date information as soon as it becomes available.
We recognize the significance of this medication for our patients and will continue to monitor the situation closely. As always, we're dedicated to delivering quality solutions and look forward to serving you.
Sincerely,
Hallandale Pharmacy
What happens next?
Contact Dr. James McDonald
He is the New York State Acting Commissioner of Health.
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He is Board Certified in PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE! Weight loss is PREVENTION!!
Contact him NOW!!
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Here is his EMAIL
Call your pharmacy
Ask your pharmacy if they have your current dose of medication - see if they have it in stock.
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If they DO NOT HAVE IT IN STOCK - email me the pharmacy, the medication, and the dose. I will compile a list and send it to the FDA.
I'm sure they want to hear from us.
What am I doing about this?
I'm working on it.
I am not going to give up until we are heard AND there is meaningful change. This is a health care crisis if we cannot receive cost effective and readily available medications!
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Here is my letter to US House of Representative, Congressman Paul Ryan:
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Dear Mr. Ryan,
I need your help. My patients need your help. I am a nurse practitioner in Warwick, NY. I own my own practice where my primary focus is on primary care, prevention, and wellness. I have been able to promote wellness through weight loss (including compounded GLP-1 injectables, oral medications, physical activity goals, nutrition guidance, and more) and wellness education. It is a common understanding/acceptance that pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies have price gouged and priced medications at "what the market will bear". Compounding pharmacies have helped health care providers to circumvent that erroneous idea (seriously - who bases health care services and medications on "what the market will bear"?!) by offering a generic version of the GLP-1 injectable medications (including semaglutide and tirzepatide) due to the declared FDA shortage status.
Friday, October 4th, the FDA determined that tirzepatide is no longer in shortage status and therefore all compounded versions must cease and desist.
Can we talk about what this means? I'll tell you. It means that my patients whose insurances would not "cover" GLP-1 medications, or would only pay a lifetime benefit of 1 month for a GLP-1 were now able to get a compounded version at a much reduced price and treat their obesity, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, recurring urinary tract infections, recurring skin infections, depression (because their weight loss helped them to feel empowered and to stop hating themselves) are now terrified that they will go back to where they started from. These are your constituents who are going to be denied access to life changing medications that have documented efficacy in preventing health care catastrophes such as heart attack, stroke, and cancer to name a top few (1).
Did you know it is cheaper to have gastric bypass surgery (effectively mutilating the stomach to a small percentage of its original size) than it is to have GLP-1 medication (2)? Did you know that while we, in the United States, where we have the best and most amazing health care system (sarcasm should be noted here) that we are charged a list price of $1023 for a month's supply of tirzepatide (this does not include the middleman fees that commercial pharmacies tack on) whereas Japan's list price is $319 - for the same exact medication? The Netherlands are charged $444 per month (3).
I need your help right now. I need you to use your voice and your political clout to help my patients have meaningful (ie: affordable and available) access to these medications NOW. If you don’t believe me, call your local pharmacy and ask if they have Zepbound 2.5mg or 5mg on hand. I’ll bet you a coffee that they don’t. I know this because I try every week to get my patients the medications that they need and I can’t get them.
Please help me to help my patients. I’m desperate.
Sincerely,
Christine S. Carter, DNP, FNP-C
Bravoure Medical Wellness
20 Spring St. Suite 2
Warwick NY 10990
845-241-0041 or 845-925-0315
1. Goldenberg R., Cheng A, Fitzpatrick T, Gilbert J, Verma S, Hopyan J, Benefits of GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide 1) receptor agonists for stroke reduction in type 2 diabetes: A call to action for neurologists. Stroke. 2022; 53:1813-1822. DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.121.038151. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/STROKEAHA.121.038151
2. Haseeb M, Chhatwal J, Xiao J, Jirapinyo P, Thompson CC. Semaglutide vs Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty for Weight Loss. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(4):e246221. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.6221
3. Amin K, Telesford I, Singh R, Cox C. How do prices for weight loss in the U.S. compare to peer nation’s prices? Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, 2023, August 17. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/prices-of-drugs-for-weight-loss-in-the-us-and-peer-nations/#List%20prices%20of%20drugs%20used%20for%20weight%20loss%20in%20the%20U.S.%20and%20peer%20nations