Ozempic is not being discontinued. The drug remains FDA-approved and actively manufactured by Novo Nordisk, with no plans to pull it from the market. What likely fueled this concern is a prolonged shortage that began in August 2022 and made the drug difficult to find at pharmacies for roughly two and a half years. That shortage has since been resolved.
Why It Was Hard to Find
Ozempic experienced a supply shortage starting in 2022, driven by a massive surge in demand. The drug is approved for type 2 diabetes, but widespread off-label use for weight loss strained production far beyond what Novo Nordisk could keep up with. During this period, many patients couldn’t fill their prescriptions or were told certain pen doses were unavailable, which understandably led to fears the drug was being phased out.
In February 2025, the FDA formally declared the semaglutide injection shortage resolved, confirming that Novo Nordisk’s supply was meeting or exceeding demand. The company had built up reserves of both finished product and semi-finished inventory to prevent future gaps. The European Medicines Agency reached the same conclusion, updating Ozempic’s shortage status to “resolved” as of early 2026.
What’s Actually Available Now
Ozempic is currently sold in three dosage strengths: 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 2 mg injection pens. One detail worth noting: a 2 mg/1.5 mL pen strength is listed in the official prescribing information but is “not currently marketed” by Novo Nordisk. This is a specific formulation choice, not a sign of discontinuation. The standard doses that most patients use are in active production and distribution.
Novo Nordisk also manufactures Wegovy (a higher-dose version of the same active ingredient, approved specifically for weight management) and Rybelsus (an oral tablet form). All three products remain on the market simultaneously. The company has not indicated it’s prioritizing one over the others.
Manufacturing Is Expanding, Not Shrinking
Far from winding down production, Novo Nordisk is spending heavily to scale it up. The company invested over 60 billion Danish kroner (roughly $8.5 billion) in capital expenditures in 2025, focused on expanding production capacity for injectable and oral products. That includes new facilities for making the active ingredient itself, plus additional packaging and finishing lines. In 2024, the company also acquired three manufacturing sites from Catalent for $11.7 billion to further increase output.
Spending is expected to remain around 55 billion Danish kroner in 2026. These are not the moves of a company discontinuing its flagship product. They reflect a manufacturer racing to meet global demand that shows no sign of slowing.
The Compounded Semaglutide Confusion
Another source of confusion: during the shortage, compounding pharmacies were legally permitted to produce custom versions of semaglutide. Now that the shortage is resolved, the FDA has tightened its stance on these compounded products. Semaglutide no longer appears on the FDA’s drug shortage list or the list of drugs that compounders can produce in bulk.
This crackdown on compounded versions may have created the impression that semaglutide itself is going away. It’s not. What’s changing is that unapproved, non-brand-name versions are being restricted. The FDA has been clear that compounded drugs don’t undergo the same review for safety, effectiveness, or quality as approved medications. The agency has warned consumers to be cautious about products sold online, particularly those labeled “for research purposes” or “not for human consumption,” which may be of unknown quality.
If you were previously getting semaglutide from a compounding pharmacy, the transition back to brand-name Ozempic or Wegovy may require a new prescription and could come with a significant price difference. But the FDA-approved product itself remains fully available.
Why You Might Still Have Trouble Filling a Prescription
Even with the national shortage resolved, individual pharmacies can still run into temporary stock issues. Local demand, insurance restrictions, and distributor logistics can all create pockets of unavailability that feel like a broader shortage. If your pharmacy tells you Ozempic is out of stock, it’s worth calling other locations or asking your pharmacist when they expect their next shipment. A delay of a few days at one pharmacy is different from a nationwide supply problem.
Insurance coverage and prior authorization requirements can also make the drug feel inaccessible even when it’s physically on shelves. Some insurers have shifted formulary preferences toward competing medications or require documentation that cheaper alternatives have been tried first. These are access barriers, not supply problems.