The UK medicines regulator has issued a warning about fake and potentially harmful weight loss drug pens after a spate of hospitalisations.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had seized 369 potentially fake Ozempic pens this year, sold by illegal traders.
Semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy or Ozempic, can aid with weight loss by suppressing appetite. It works by mimicking a hormone named glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that is normally released after eating. This makes people feel full, meaning they eat less and lose weight.
In a statement released on Friday, the MHRA urged the public not to buy any pre-filled pens claiming to contain either Ozempic or Saxenda without a prescription.
Dr Alison Cave, the chief safety officer at the MHRA, told the Daily Mail: “Buying products such as Ozempic or Saxenda without a prescription, from illegally trading suppliers, significantly increases the risk of receiving something which is either fake or not licensed for use in the UK.
“Products purchased in this way do not meet our strict quality and safety standards, and taking such medicines may put your health at significant risk. We are advising all members of the public not to use pre-filled weight-loss pens they may have bought online and instead to report it to us.”
Several people who used the fake pens have been hospitalised with “serious side-effects” including hypoglycaemic shock and coma, indicating that the devices may contain insulin rather than semaglutide, the MHRA said.
Semaglutide, which is injected weekly, was recently approved for use by NHS England.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said that semaglutide could help people reduce their weight by over 10 per cent if implemented alongside nutrition and lifestyle changes.
Health minister Will Quince said that fraudsters selling fake medicines would put people’s health at risk.
“The medical advice is clear – patients should only use medicines like Ozempic or Saxenda where they’ve been prescribed it by a legitimate source such as their GP or another legitimate prescriber. The MHRA have our full support in cracking down on these illegal online suppliers to ensure that patients are protected,” he said.
The Danish maker of the drug, Novo Nordisk, earlier this month flagged a surge in online offers of counterfeit Ozempic and Wegovy as it scrambles to catch up with overwhelming demand.
It comes days after several people were hospitalised in Austria after using suspected fake versions of Ozempic amid a Europe-wide hunt for imitations of the hugely popular drug.
