EU regulator flags surge in online sales of counterfeit weight-loss drugs

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(Reuters) -The European Union’s medicines regulator said on Wednesday there has been a surge in illegal medicines marketed as weight-loss and diabetes medicines online in recent months across the region, and warned about a serious risk to public health.

Global shortages of these drugs have fueled demand for compounded versions, particularly in the United States. There has also been a spurt in counterfeit products marketed as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic or Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro.

“Authorities have identified hundreds of fake Facebook profiles, advertisements and e-commerce listings, many of which are hosted outside the EU,” the European Medicines Agency said.

“Some fraudulent websites and social media advertisements misuse official logos and use false endorsements to mislead consumers.”

EU law prohibits large-scale compounding of approved drugs, except in rare circumstances.

These unauthorized products may not contain the claimed active substance at all and may contain harmful levels of other substances, the EMA added. People who use these products are at a very high risk of treatment failure, serious health problems and dangerous interactions with other medicines, it added.

Novo Nordisk sells semaglutide as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss, while Lilly sells tirzepatide as Mounjaro in the EU for both conditions.

In 2023, EMA had warned the public about pre-filled pens falsely labeled as Ozempic, which is also used “off-label” for weight loss.

Both Novo and Lilly have filed dozens of lawsuits in the U.S. against telehealth firms, compounding pharmacies and medical spas for selling unapproved knockoff versions of their drugs.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)