Ozempic maker bringing weight-loss drug Wegovy to Canada

OK, new weight loss drug will be available to Canadians starting next week. Here is Doctor Iris Gorfinkel who joins us now for a health checkup. Dr. Gorfinkel, the makers of Ozempic have announced their weight loss drug We Govi will be available in Canada starting on Monday. Can you tell us just quickly how does it work and would you recommend it? So WE Govi and Ozempic are actually the same drug, Ozempic is a smaller dose and WE Govi is a larger one. And how do these drugs work? Three ways. They slow the emptying of the stomach so that when we eat food actually sits here longer. It also sensitizes our body to insulin and makes it puts out more insulin. And finally, it reduces cravings. Can you imagine? It works on the brain to make us want food less. I have patients on Ozempic who’ve actually said this is the first time in my life I’m feeling full. But the side effects are predictable. When you hear the way it works, so food is sitting in the stomach longer, what do you think that does? It means more heartburn, more reflux, sense of fullness. It can be nausea, vomiting. It can also cause diarrhea. So I, I, I have what I call the one third rule, 1/3 of patients on Wagovi will lose 15% of their body weight. But I meant to 15% rule, 15% of patients will stop wogovy because it’s too hard to take, the side effects are problematic and then finally you have a huge number of people who just stopped the drug because they can’t stand the side effect. So, so it’s it’s a bit of problematic. The cost is also a consideration. It’s not for everybody. They have to be obese enough. Obesity is 1 criteria, BMI more than 30. Or if they’re overweight and have one weight related problem, that weight related problem may be hypertension, it may be diabetes or obstructive sleep apnea. But that’s what it takes to get qualified for that medication. And not all insurances will necessarily cover it. OK, and then, But then we’ve seen what’s happened with Ozempic and I know it’s being told to not be prescribed for off label use and not for cosmetic purposes. But we have seen what’s happened with Ozempic. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. There’s a whole bunch of people, you know, 70% of obesity is not within a person’s control though, like their weight. But there’s so many other factors that play a role in it. Let’s own it. Emotions, finances, food availability, Let’s get basic. Not everybody can afford the Mediterranean diet, even though it does make us live longer and better quality lives. OK, listen, I also want to talk to you this morning about doctors becoming increasingly concerned about the avian flu. It’s been detected at several dairy farms in the US How concerned should Canadian officials be? Yeah, especially after the reports that it was affecting one and three grocery milk samples. So here it’s vastly under tested. We’re not really looking for it. Did you know, for example, the testing is left to the individual farmer to decide. How much sense does that make? What farmer is going to want to test it? And besides, when it has, it has jumped into livestock as we well know. But those livestock don’t get sick like cows. They tend to get mild symptoms, things like producing less milk and a somewhat lowered appetite, and they tend to get better on their own within 10 days. So as a result, farmers are not really testing it. It’s expensive and it’s expensive to get a vet and they get better on their own and it acts very much like other viruses. And never mind. Even if they were to find it, it’s not mandatory to report in provinces like Alberta. That’s where 2/3 of Canada’s slaughtering is taking place. So that’s the situation we have so not detected does not necessarily mean, you know, so. So the Canadian Food Agency tells us it hasn’t been reported, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been detected. All right, We have to leave it there. Doctor Grofekel, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.