EMA gets social

the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has teamed up with content creators to launch a social media campaign – #Health NotHype – to raise awareness about the safe and responsible use of GLP-1 receptor agonists.

While initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes, some of these medicines are now indicated for weight management in people living with obesity.

But thanks to social media and celebrity endorsements, awareness of GLP-1 receptor agonists and their use for weight loss is soaring, raising concerns among health authorities about the risk of misinformation, misuse and other issues like illegal sales of counterfeit products.

The EMA selected content creators from seven different EU member states to help redress some of these issues.

Mostly healthcare professionals or experts in nutrition, they were chosen for their credibility in healthcare communication and their alignment with EMA’s values of evidence-based information, respect, transparency and independence.

The main channel for the first campaign is Instagram, due to its high volume of conversations and information on GLP-1 receptor agonists.

“#HealthNotHype is about passing the message that GLP-1 receptor agonists are not magic solutions for weight loss,” explained EMA’s Executive Director Emer Cooke.

“Like all medicines, they have benefits and risks and are not for everyone.

“By working with content creators, we want to ensure that validated scientific information is part of the conversations people are having on social media about these medicines,” Cooke said.

The post #HealthNotHype: appeared first on Pharmacy Daily.