Counterfeit versions of Eli Lilly’s retatrutide, hailed as a potential “new Ozempic,” are being sold directly to U.S. consumers through Chinese websites, although regulatory approval remains years away.
Hundreds of marketers are offering the new drug to buyers in the United States through websites such as Made-in-China.com and GorillaHealing.com, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Some sites, including those that appear to be based in the United States, have marketed their products through posts on LinkedIn and Reddit, according to the publication.
Unapproved drugs also find their way into the hands of consumers through advertisements on social media platforms and even collaborations with various spokespersons, including a fitness influencer who offered them for sale through his newsletter.
“It’s unprecedented to see a drug in advanced clinical trials being so blatantly advertised for sale online,” George Karavetsos, former director of the state’s criminal investigation bureau, told the Journal. FDA.
Counterfeit versions of Eli Lilly’s retatrutide, hailed as potential ‘new Ozempic,’ sold directly to US consumers
Eli Lilly generated excitement about the future of retatrutide when it announced in June that Phase 2 trial results showed the drug led to an average weight loss of up to 24% over 48 weeks.
Eli Lilly generated excitement about the future of retatrutide when it announced in June that Phase 2 trial results showed the drug led to an average weight loss of up to 24% over 48 weeks .
However, the mid-stage retatrutide obesity trial included only 338 patients.
Three late-stage trials to study effectiveness and safety in more obese patients began this summer and are expected to continue through 2026.
The FDA won’t approve the drug, which doesn’t yet have a brand name, for sale for a few months, assuming the trials are successful.
It can also be reproduced quite easily with the right ingredients, as Eli Lilly has disclosed its chemical structure in accordance with patent protection applications.
Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, as well as Google, LinkedIn and Reddit, said it removed flagged ads or user posts in accordance with internal policies.
The FDA said it will continue to investigate reports of suspected counterfeit drugs to determine public health risks and the appropriate regulatory response.
In a statement, Lilly said: “Any product misrepresenting itself as an investigational Lilly product not yet approved by the FDA, such as retatrutide, may expose patients to potentially serious health risks. »
Hundreds of marketers are offering the new drug to buyers in the United States through websites such as Made-in-China.com and GorillaHealing.com.
Retatrutide and Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk, are part of a new class of drugs that mimic appetite-regulating hormones.
Ozempic has returned to the spotlight in recent days because his links to suicidal thoughts are becoming “more credible”, a former US health chief has said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received hundreds of reports of suicidal thoughts and depression from patients taking weight-loss medications since 2010, as well as 36 deaths “by suicide or suspected suicide.”
Of the adverse events, a significant number occurred shortly after starting treatment or after increasing the dose, only to subside when patients stopped taking them.
The patients included a mother of four who said she felt like she no longer wanted to be here and a nurse who wanted to kill herself.
Dr. Erick Turner, who worked for the FDA but now works at Oregon Health and Science University, said the fact that many patients stopped suffering from suicidal thoughts when they stopped taking the drug made it “more difficult to explain suicidal tendencies.”
A total of 265 reports of suicidal thoughts and depression were received by the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
A woman with type 2 diabetes also revealed she feared for her life after Ozempic severely burned her genitals and caused “pieces of skin” to fall off her body.
Dr. Rosas, pictured above, stopped Ozempic after experiencing side effects and says his health is now improving. She follows a strict diet to control her type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Maria Rosas, who lives in Texas, said her skin broke out a week after she started taking Ozempic. She also felt a burning sensation in her back and genitals.
Dr. Maria Rosas, a professor in Texas, was prescribed medication once a week for her type 2 diabetes, in the hope that it would free her from needing to take multiple medications twice a day.
The first week went well, she says, with blood sugar well controlled. Although she felt slightly depressed, she said it quickly got better.
The following week, however, Dr. Rosas said a burning pain erupted in his back, genitals and buttocks. The areas also began to turn dark red, as if they had been exposed to the sun “for days.”
And then she noticed that “bits of skin” were starting to appear on her toilet seat and toilet paper every time she cleaned those areas.
When she examined his genitals, anus and buttocks, Dr. Rosas said the skin appeared charred and sunburned.
Just 20 days after using the drug, in August 2023, she called her doctor to report her condition and he told her to stop using Ozempic immediately.
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