Montecito pharmacy offers popular weight loss drug at a reduced cost

MONTECITO, Calif.— A weight loss and diabetes drug remains in a shortage but for the last month, San Ysidro Pharmacy has been supplying patients with semaglutide— the generic name for Ozempic and its competitors - in compound form.
 
Semaglutide increases insulin production and slows the rate at which food leaves the stomach.
 
It’s most effective when combined with a healthy lifestyle.
 
“People that don't take on a healthy lifestyle along with semaglutide, you know, when they go off Semaglutide, they'll just, they'll just gain the weight right back,” said pharmacist Andrea Dominic, who works at San Ysidro Pharmacy.

One major advantage of using the semaglutide at the San Ysidro Pharmacy is that instead of injecting yourself with a shot once a week, you only administer a small dosage of liquid underneath your tongue daily. 
 
“You introduce it gradually into the body and that that helps minimize the side effects,” said Dominic.
 
Though the semaglutide compound is not covered by insurance, it’s significantly more affordable than brands like Ozempic and Wegovy.
 
“For the Ozempic, the injection I was quoted $2,000 and I can't afford that because of the cost of living and everything that's going up. It's just it's tight. And so I was excited when we were able compound it because I can get it for $200 here at our pharmacy,” said Vanessa Rivera, who lives in Lompoc and commutes to work at the San Ysidro Pharmacy.

A Senate committee report in may found that the company Novo Nordisk charges americans with type 2 diabetes $969 a month for Ozempic and $1,349 a month for Wegovy. 
 
Healthcare providers are hungry for transformation. 
 
“There's always inequities in health care and especially obese patients feel that. And this is just another classic example of even when we make progress, people with barriers and lower resources just may not be able to experience the benefits of that,” said Santa Barbara OBGYN Dr. Maryam Guiahi.

While San Ysidro is an accredited compounding pharmacy compound drugs are not verified or tested by the Food and Drug Administration.