Experts are warning that counterfeit weight-loss medications could become more prevalent as tablet forms of the drugs, currently available only via injections in the UK, are launched. They say stronger regulation and enforcement are needed to prevent fraudsters from cashing in on tablets, which are easier to counterfeit than injectables.
While pill forms of weight-loss medications are expected to be cheaper and more accessible than injectable versions, they are also an easier target for scammers. Professor Bhavik Patel of the University of Brighton said: “Pills are much easier prey for scammers than injectables as they require relatively accessible equipment to manufacture the pill – something to mix the powders and a pill press – and can provide the scope for vast production.”
In the UK, demand for weight-loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro has grown, with trials suggesting they can help people lose about 14% and 20% of their body weight respectively after 72 weeks. However, the jabs are expensive, require injection pens and needles, and must be refrigerated. Pharmaceutical companies are now developing oral versions containing drugs that mimic the hormone GLP-1.
A pill form of Wegovy, produced by Novo Nordisk, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration last month and is under assessment by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Orforglipron from Eli Lilly has completed phase-three clinical trials and has been submitted to the FDA for review.
Dr Bernard Naughton of Trinity College Dublin said counterfeit pills could include medications taken out of the legitimate supply chain and potentially stored incorrectly, or could be contaminated, contain an incorrect dose, or have no active ingredient at all. “We can see already that there have been some examples of the injections being falsified,” he said. “It’s relatively easy to just create a pill and, if you’ve got good packaging, to falsely put it forward as the legitimate product.”
There is a precedent for fake weight-loss medications, with the MHRA having repeatedly warned about buying jabs only from registered pharmacies. In October last year, the MHRA raided a factory in Northampton, seizing more than £250,000 worth of counterfeit weight-loss jabs, including pens for the experimental drug retatrutide, which is not licensed in the UK.
