Online purchasing options for GLP-1 agonists: Accessibility, marketing practices, and consumer safety concerns

Corey H. Basch, Helen Yousaf, Grace C. Hillyer
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Abstract

The proliferation of online pharmaceutical sales necessitates a deeper understanding of how medications such as the diabetes treatment Ozempic® are presented and marketed on Google Shopping, a major aggregator of e-commerce merchants. We analyzed the representation and characteristics of Ozempic® listings, which were provided as regular and sponsored product results, with options to filter by medication form (liquid, tablet, capsule, wipes), specific pain relief applications (e.g., migraine, arthritis), free shipping offers, and price ranges. Additional filters included selection by store, however no sorting or filtering criteria were applied to maintain neutrality in the initial data capture. The 57 results were vetted for duplication, relevance, and English language usage. The final sample analyzed included 19 unique URLs. Results indicated that pricing ranged between $65 for proprietary compounded semaglutides and other weight loss products and $1399.99 for Ozempic®. Nearly half of the vendors offered introductory discounts, while others offered payment plans; 21.1 % mentioned a money-back guarantee but insurance coverage received little attention. Nearly half of the websites (42.1 %) were sponsored by telemedicine platforms, 26 % by patient/weight loss services, and 21.1 % of these were pharmacies. To access these medications, 15 vendors (78.9 %) required a prescription and of these13/15 (86.7 %) could be provided through the vendor’s company physician after completing an online questionnaire. The majority of programs (94.7 %) were accessible remotely with no direct personal interaction with the company physician or supplier. Nearly 80 % of the websites mentioned the pros of the weight loss product they promoted compared to 68.4 % that mentioned any cons. Around one-third of the sites (36.8 %) made product safety claims and 10.5 % mentioned “testing” without any specific details, while just over one-half referenced the FDA (57.9 %) or cited research to support credibility (52.6 %). The reliance on online pharmacies for GLP-1 agonists highlights the need for safeguards to ensure consumer health and safety.
GLP-1激动剂的在线购买选择:可及性、营销实践和消费者安全问题
在线药品销售的激增需要更深入地了解诸如糖尿病治疗药物Ozempic®等药物是如何在谷歌Shopping(一个主要的电子商务商家聚合平台)上展示和营销的。我们分析了Ozempic®列表的代表性和特征,这些列表是作为常规和赞助产品结果提供的,可根据药物形式(液体,片剂,胶囊,湿巾),特定的疼痛缓解应用(例如偏头痛,关节炎),免费送货优惠和价格范围进行筛选。其他过滤器包括按存储选择,但是在初始数据捕获中没有应用排序或过滤标准来保持中立性。对这57个结果进行了重复、相关性和英语语言使用的审查。最后分析的样本包括19个唯一的url。结果表明,专利复合semaglutides和其他减肥产品的定价介于65美元和Ozempic®的1399.99美元之间。近一半的供应商提供了入门折扣,而其他供应商则提供了付款计划;21.1% %提到退款保证,但保险范围很少受到关注。近一半的网站(42.1% %)由远程医疗平台赞助,26% %由患者/减肥服务赞助,其中21.1% %为药店。为了获得这些药物,15家供应商(78.9% %)需要处方,其中13/15家(86.7 %)可以通过供应商的公司医生在完成在线问卷后提供。大多数程序(94.7 %)可以远程访问,无需与公司医生或供应商进行直接的个人互动。近80% %的网站提到了他们推广的减肥产品的优点,而68.4% %的网站提到了任何缺点。大约三分之一的网站(36.8% %)提出了产品安全声明,10.5% %的网站提到了“测试”,但没有任何具体细节,而超过一半的网站参考了FDA(57.9% %)或引用研究来支持可信度(52.6% %)。GLP-1激动剂对网上药店的依赖突出了保障消费者健康和安全的必要性。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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