2023-10-27 09:12:00
Written by Rabab Fathi Friday, October 27, 2023 11:12 AM
The UK medicines regulator has issued a public warning about counterfeit and potentially harmful weight-loss pens, after seizing hundreds of devices sold illegally by dealers.
The dealers’ drug pens allegedly contained the weight-loss drugs Ozempic (semaglutide) or Saxenda (liraglutide). However, these pens are believed to contain other substances.
A small number of people hospitalized after using the pens have experienced serious side effects ranging from hypoglycemic shock to coma, leading health officials to suspect that the pens contain insulin.
Austrian authorities said this week that several people went to hospital after being injected with the fake drug Ozempic.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has urged the public not to buy any prefilled pens claiming to contain Saxenda or Ozempic, and to consult a qualified healthcare professional to prescribe the medicines and obtain a prescription.
Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the MHRA, said: “Purchasing products such as Ozempic or Saxenda without a prescription, from suppliers trading illegally, significantly increases the risk of receiving something that is counterfeit or not licensed for use in the UK. .
Since the beginning of the year, the Medicines Regulatory Authority has seized 369 potentially adulterated Ozempic pens, and has received reports of adulterated Saxenda pens from members of the public who obtained them through illicit methods, such as unregulated websites, without a proper prescription. Before 2023, the authority has not seized any counterfeit weight loss pens.
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