Attorney General William Tong on Thursday joined a 38-state and territory bipartisan coalition requesting that the Food and Drug Administration take swift action against bad actors endangering consumers with counterfeit forms of the weight loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, and Wegovy (GLP-1 drugs).
“Counterfeiters are taking advantage of the massive demand for weight loss meds and are flooding American markets with dangerous, bootleg drugs. The Food and Drug Administration needs to do its job and take strong action to protect American patients from criminal counterfeiting rings and dealers of unknown and untested substances. In the meantime, do not buy bootleg Ozempic online or without a prescription. Talk to your doctor and pharmacy, and do not take risks with these untested and potentially adulterated knockoffs,” said Attorney General Tong in a release.
The letter states that “online retailers are illegally selling the active ingredients of GLP-1 drugs directly to consumers, without a prescription. These retailers claim that the active ingredients they sell are ‘for research purposes only’ or ‘not for human consumption’. In reality, these companies advertise directly to consumers on social media, claiming that their products are an easier and more affordable way to obtain GLP-1 drugs. Much like with counterfeit versions, these active ingredients come from unregulated, undisclosed sources and pose risks of contamination and inclusion of foreign substances.”
The letter declares that the Food and Drug Administration has the expertise and resources to stop the bad conduct and deceptive practices by counterfeit drug manufacturers and that they should increase enforcement actions against the dealers and suppliers who are illegally participating in this market. It also encourages the FDA to partner with state pharmacy boards to provide increased oversight of compounding pharmacies and ensure that compounded GLP-1 drugs are produced safely and in sanitary environments.
The bipartisan letter was co-led by South Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, and Tennessee and joined by Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.