By Jessica Scarpati –
Those who have tried to get their hands on weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and other GLP-1 medications over the past year know that it can be challenging. Now, the rise of Ozempic knockoffs filled with danger has made the pursuit potentially hazardous.
“As soon as these drugs hit the market, the demand was so high that pharmacies began running out of them,” said Supriya Rao, MD, a Massachusetts gastroenterologist and obesity medicine specialist, in an interview with Fortune. “Med spas and compounding pharmacies began filling that gap for patients.”
Michelle Sword, a 46-year-old English woman, came to this painful realization just recently. She told the BBC in September how she began poking around the internet for alternative suppliers of Ozempic after the online pharmacy she previously used for it indicated the drug was out of stock.
“It was a lot harder to get hold of Ozempic, so I didn’t go down the conventional way of doing it,” Sword acknowledged. “The beauty companies and the online aesthetic companies all seemed to have it.”
Unfortunately, what these companies had was not what Sword needed or wanted. After purchasing what she thought was an Ozempic pen from one of these online retailers, she injected herself with what turned out to be insulin. That decision landed her in a nearly fatal diabetic coma.
A Chicago man shared a similar experience after his doctor declined to prescribe him Ozempic or Mounjuro. He acknowledged then buying it from an illegitimate online source, which resulted in him spending a weekend in the intensive care unit after he unknowingly injected himself with insulin instead of a weight loss drug.
Fierce demand and limited supply have set the stage for counterfeiters to peddle bogus versions of the drugs to unwitting consumers and even some suppliers over the internet. These fakes are not only tempting because they fill a void, but their lower price tags are magnets for the desperate.
Without insurance, these medications cost about $1,000 per month in the U.S. Even with coverage, which isn’t guaranteed with all insurance plans, the out-of-pocket price can still be several hundred dollars per month.
A Welsh woman underscored the draw when she told Good Morning Britain how she purchased four injections of what she thought was a weight-loss drug for just £20 from a beautician on Facebook. After using one, she started vomiting blood, passed out and arrived at the hospital in critical condition only because her children were nearby and called an ambulance.
“Due to the cost of brand-name Ozempic, more and more people are turning to cheaper knockoff versions, often found online or through non-regulated channels,” Dr Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon, warned. “These knockoffs are synthesized in non-medical environments without the necessary quality assurance or quality control, making them inherently risky.”
Perhaps more trouble, the scope of the problem may be growing. Last year, for example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a consumer warning about its seizure of thousands of counterfeit Ozempic pens. Their contents weren’t the only cause for concern.
“Additionally, the analysis found the needles from the samples are counterfeit. Accordingly, the sterility of the needles cannot be confirmed, which presents an increased risk of infection,” the FDA stated, advising patients to only obtain Ozempic and other drugs with a valid prescription from a state-licensed pharmacy.
A CNBC investigation found that it’s not only counterfeits that are saturating the black market for obesity drugs. Another tactic known as drug diversion is also putting consumers at risk. In this scenario, legitimate products produced for another region of the world are illegally sold by private individuals or sham companies to consumers abroad.
CNBC’s investigative team laid out the dangerous practice after it attempted to purchase Ozempic from a company called Laver Beauty, whose website indicated it was located in Boulder, Colorado.
“The drug cost $219 for a month’s supply, a fraction of the list price of $968 for a month’s supply of Ozempic in the U.S.,” CNBC reported. “The drug CNBC purchased was shipped via DHL from an office building in Shijiazhuang, China, about a four-hour drive from Beijing. The package that arrived at CNBC headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, was a plain cardboard box with no refrigeration except for two melted ice packs. Ozempic is supposed to be stored refrigerated. The drug packaging, which appeared authentic, featured Chinese writing and the Novo Nordisk logo.”
Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, confirmed it was a legitimate product of theirs but not approved for distribution in the U.S.
Of course, there are plenty of people, even those who are desperate, who would balk at buying medications from Facebook or some sketchy website. Unfortunately, some might instead opt for a compounding pharmacy. These are facilities where pharmacists purchase pharmaceutical-grade ingredients and, using formulas, combine them to make medications. There are thousands of legitimate, safe and state-licensed compounding pharmacies throughout the U.S.
But they’re also in a bit of a gray zone, experts say. The FDA does not review compounded drugs before they are marketed.
“Compounded medications are essentially ‘copies’ of available medications, but they do not have the same safety, quality and effectiveness assurances as approved drugs, since these compounded versions lack FDA approval,” Dr. Carolyn Jasik, chief medical officer for Omada Health, told Fortune.
The FDA just recently focused on the potential problems when it issued a statement expressing “concerns” for compounded versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide, the active ingredients in popular obesity drugs.
“FDA received multiple reports of adverse events, some requiring hospitalization, that may be related to dosing errors associated with compounded injectable semaglutide products,” the agency stated. “Additionally, the agency has received adverse event reports that may be related to patients prescribed compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide products in doses beyond what is in the FDA-approved drug label.”
Ultimately, experts stress the best way to stay safe is to not seek any shortcuts. This means obtaining a prescription from a doctor and filling that prescription at a state-licensed pharmacy. The FDA’s BeSafeRx website provides resources for safely buying prescription medicines online. And yes, never buy medicine off Facebook.
