I Know Who to Blame for Your Mounjaro Shortage!

There is an almost constant nationwide shortage of Mounjaro, and everyone wants to know who is to blame. I am experiencing the effects of this myself right now. Both high consumer demand and lack of supply on the market cause this shortage, but are there other underlying causes?

How The Shortage Affects Me

My doctors prescribed me Mounjaro for my Type 2 diabetes at my request last year in October 2023. Mounjaro is currently out of stock nationally at the 7.5mg, 10mg, and 12.5mg doses. This week, I had to take my third 5mg dose even though I should be on 10mg. I couldn’t get the 10mg dose this past month. Anywhere. I spent days calling around to pharmacies all over. 

Finally, I spoke with my doctor’s office, and they suggested I switch to 5mg since it was available. My insurance won’t cover two 5mg shots. I must take half the needed dose until pharmaceutical companies rectify the supply issue.  It was a very frustrating experience and I understand how it could cause someone to become upset. People are upset on behalf of themselves or others that the drugs are so hard to get!

I can only hope the necessity to switch to 5mg doesn’t negatively impact my weight loss journey too much. After two weeks, I definitely started to experience an increase in food noise. Food noise is the constant thought about food that can lead to overeating, especially amongst the obese.  Mounjaro is effective in that it mimics the hormone that your body releases to stop itself from focusing on food. Without taking it, the food noise was so bad that I binge-ate this past weekend. It had been many months since I felt the urge to do so. I gained over 8 pounds in 2 days. Could I have avoided that entirely if I was on the right dose of my medication? I understandably find this situation upsetting, but who is to blame for the Mounjaro shortgage?

The Blame Game for the Mounjaro Shortage

Most people online seem to blame the individuals taking the GLP-1s themselves. There is growing animosity among users of the drugs caused by this shortage.  It pits people against each other, causing people to judge who is more worthy of the available supply. They resent the use of GLP-1s by the obese and morbidly obese.  They should, however, assign blame where it properly belongs. 

The blame does not lie with the people who need these drugs.  It does not lay with people with Type 2 diabetes, very true. Nor does it lay with the obese people who need the drug to assist in weight loss.  Place blame on the doctors who are over-prescribing the drugs. Blame especially with the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture these drugs.

Manufacturing Issues

Eli Lilly is the manufacturer of Mounjaro. The company released a statement regarding the supply shortages. “Due to continued dynamic patient demand across doses, Lilly anticipates intermittent backorders on certain doses of Mounjaro, we recognize this situation may disrupt people’s treatment regimens and we are moving with urgency to address it.” The company continued that it intends to “invest and add manufacturing and supply capacity around the world.”

In this same statement released above, Eli Lilly also claims that Zepbound is readily available at all doses on the market.  If that is the case, why is it that people who rely on Mounjaro for their diabetes, like me, are not able to obtain the drug? Ask health insurers who refuse to cover Zepbound because Eli Lilly markets it as a weight-loss drug.  Insurers are more likely to cover Mounjaro, so doctors prescribe it more often- even for weight loss patients.

Blame Shifting

While people in ‘coming years’ may be happy that they can obtain Mounjaro on time, what are people to do now? Eli Lilly went on the attack in a recent advertisement, in an apparent attempt to limit who can access their drug Mounjaro especially. “Some people have been using medicine never meant for them,” a voice actor states. “For the smaller dress or tux, for a big night, for vanity. But that’s not the point. People whose health is affected by obesity are the reason we work on these medications … It matters who gets them.”

David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, also indicated to CNN that Eli Lilly made Mounjaro and Zepbound for people struggling with health issues and not “just to have someone who’s famous look a little bit better. …So we need to prioritize, and that’s what this ad’s about, is prioritizing those who need it most.”

The Reality of Who is to Blame for the Mounjaro Shortage

Clearly, Eli Lilly wants people to resent people who use GLP-1s, and to blame them for the Mounjaro shortage. It is used purely for vanity, after all. But this is a cleverly devised method of damage control. In reality, only a tiny percentage of the population that takes Mounjaro fits this description. And it isn’t the people who want to lose weight who are to blame. They simply want access to the drug, and often are not aware that the meds are not readily available. Even if they are aware, they are just happy to have the opportunity to take such an effective medication.

It is the doctors who prescribe the medication when the individual doesn’t meet diagnostic criteria to obtain the drug that is to blame. It is the health insurer who refuses to cover Zepbound for weight loss. And it is Eli Lilly to blame for not directing its record profits from this drug into manufacturing sooner instead of first implementing corporate bonuses and lining shareholders’ pockets.