World Health Organization issues global warning about fake Ozempic

(NewsNation) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning about counterfeit weight loss drugs that claim to contain the active ingredients of the diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy.

Since 2022, WHO has been observing increasing reports of counterfeit semaglutide and other GLP-1 products worldwide. However, this first official report came after the confirmation of counterfeit batches in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the United States.

Counterfeits contain unverified ingredients

According to the WHO statement, a shortage of diabetes drugs, which are also used for weight loss, has led to an increase in counterfeiting of these drugs due to overwhelming demand.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that dispensing of these drugs to adolescents and young adults increased by 594% from 2020 to 2023.

The WHO warns that counterfeit GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro may be missing tested ingredients or raw components, posing a health risk.

They may be missing semaglutide, tripeptide or other key ingredients, which can lead to uncontrolled blood sugar or weight.

In the UK, 600 fake Ozempic pens were seized and at least half a dozen people who used fake products suffered serious side effects, with doctors telling one woman that using another fake pen could have been fatal.

Are FDA-approved manufacturers affected?

This poses a major problem for manufacturers of GLP-1 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Counterfeit batches put patients at risk and harm companies financially.

On Thursday, Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, filed six lawsuits in Ohio, Texas, Hawaii and Washington, DC, accusing wellness centers and medical spas of falsely claiming that their compound tripeptide is FDA-approved.

Eli Lilly had previously sued nearly a dozen spas and pharmacies. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, has filed similar lawsuits.