Beware of counterfeit diabetes medication - patient ended up in hospital

2023-10-19 13:51:00

A patient in Austria has to be treated in a hospital after using a counterfeit diabetes drug (“Ozempic”). The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) provided information about this on Thursday. In addition, counterfeits of the diabetes pen are said to have already reached patients in Austria. The BASG also assumes that there are other counterfeits that are difficult or impossible to detect, it warned.

When asked, there were no details about the patient. When asked, BASG also did not provide any details about the condition.

Ordered online

The counterfeit product with a different active ingredient was probably ordered online. There is no evidence that the counterfeit products were dispensed to patients by legal pharmacies. The BASG warns patients “strongly and urgently against any unauthorized ordering of ‘Ozempic’ on the Internet.” Genuine medicines can only be purchased through a prescription and dispensing from a community pharmacy. This is the only way to ensure that the product purchased is an approved, well-tested, safe and effective and therefore ultimately authentic medicine, according to the BASG.

Patients are advised not to use “Ozempic” pre-filled pens that are suspected to be counterfeit. Suspected cases or information about possibly counterfeit products should be reported to the BASG office responsible for combating illegality ([email protected]).

The drug Ozempic is also on the market as a counterfeit.
Image: Private

Suspected counterfeits in circulation

According to current knowledge, the suspected counterfeits are “Ozempic” packs with a strength of 1 mg (Ozempic 1 mg injection solution in a pre-filled pen). According to the BASG, it cannot currently be ruled out that other packs with a different potency are affected. According to the authority, counterfeit “Ozempic” pre-filled pens are easy to distinguish from the real thing. However, the BASG assumes that there are also counterfeits of “Ozempic” that look different or are not offered as a ready-made pen. The counterfeit is difficult or impossible to recognize on the outer packaging.

On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also warned against counterfeits of the diabetes drug “Ozempic”. Counterfeit diabetes pens have appeared in various EU countries and Great Britain, the EMA announced in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The spray aids with labels in German came from wholesalers in Austria and Germany. However, the authority has so far had no evidence that counterfeit preparations were issued to patients by legal pharmacies.

First counterfeits appeared in Germany

The first counterfeits appeared in Germany at the beginning of October. EU authorities, the police and a federal authority in Germany are already investigating. At the center of the investigation is a pharmaceutical wholesaler in southwest Baden-Württemberg. According to an advertisement from the Freiburg regional council, 199 packages originally came from an Austrian wholesaler and were delivered to another pharmaceutical dealer in Great Britain at the beginning of September 2023. According to the domestic Federal Criminal Police Office, there are also investigations in Austria.

According to the EU authority, the latest reports of counterfeiting of the product are related to an increased demand for the product. The active ingredient semaglutide in “Ozempic” can also be used as an anti-obesity medication. The manufacturer Novo Nordisk had also already announced that there was a significant increase in illegal online sales. In the photos, the injection button at the end of the injection aid is gray on the original and blue on the fake. Counterfeit medicines can be dangerous to your health. Due to the untested quality of the counterfeit medicine, possible contamination and unknown ingredients, these counterfeits can also be life-threatening, warned the BASG.

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