Women with PMOS should get subsidised weight-loss drugs, Australian advocates say

Women living with a chronic hormonal condition should have access to taxpayer-funded weight loss medications, advocates say.

The Polyendrocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome Association of Australia (POSAA) is urging for GLP-1 drugs to be approved on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for people living with the condition.

Formerly known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, PMOS affects one in eight women. Symptoms can include irregular periods, excess hair growth on the body and face, weight gain, and hair thinning.

The lifelong condition, for which there is no cure, can lead to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and endometrial cancer.

While GLP-1s are not specifically approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to treat PMOS, patients are being prescribed the medications off-label.

Half a million Australians are estimated to be using weight-loss medications regularly, a UNSW study found in July.

Lorna Berry, a spokesperson for the POSAA who was diagnosed with the condition at 32, said she would welcome GLP-1s being subsidised for patients diagnosed with PMOS, in addition to funding for evidence-based research.

“It’s important for people to have access to medications, irrespective of where they live or where they were born … it’s really important that there’s equitable access,” she told the Guardian.

Berry said some women living with the condition were already missing out on being able to access the medications due to their high cost, which can set patients back several hundred dollars each month.

Associate professor Magdalena Simonis, the women’s health spokesperson for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, said the college did not currently have a position on whether GLP-1s were appropriate for the management of PMOS.

“They’re not necessarily the only tool we have available to us, and that is important because long-term use is expensive, and it doesn’t look like these are going to be on the PBS anytime soon, and maybe not ever for conditions such as PMOS,” she said.

“Because traditionally women’s conditions are not included in these changes.”

Simonis, a GP with an expert interest in PMOS, said should research find the weight-loss medications more effective than existing treatments, a broader discussion about health equity would be needed.

“That is a conversation that we’re having about obesity as a national issue,” she said.

GLP-1 drugs – glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists – mimic a naturally occurring hormone which helps manage blood sugar levels and reduces hunger.

Ozempic is listed by the PBS, but only for the treatment of diabetes.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee last November recommended Wegovy be subsidised for those with a body mass index above 35.

The committee will meet next month when it will consider Novo Nordisk’s revised proposal to list Wegovy for obesity following protracted negotiations.

The Danish pharmaceutical company produces both Ozempic and Wegovy.

They contain the same active ingredient – semaglutide – but Wegovy has a higher dose.

“Novo Nordisk is continuing to work constructively with the Department of Health to try to negotiate a solution for the PBS listing of Wegovy,” a company spokesperson said.

“We remain committed to improving access for eligible Australians living with obesity.”

QENDO, an organisation advocating for people affected by PMOS and other women’s health conditions, said it recognised “growing interest in GLP-1 medications for managing PMOS, particularly for people experiencing metabolic complications and challenges with weight management”.

“While emerging evidence suggests potential benefits for some patients, further research is needed to establish their long-term effectiveness and safety specifically for PMOS,” QENDO’s acting chief executive, Kate Fisher, said.