Attorney General Alan Wilson calls for action against counterfeit weight loss drug makers

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson today led a 37-state and territory bipartisan coalition requesting that the Food and Drug Administration take swift action against bad actors who are endangering consumers with counterfeit forms of the weight loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, and Wegovy (GLP-1 drugs).

“The popularity of these drugs is growing at a rate that exceeds production by licensed manufacturers and has opened the door for copycat products from countries like China and India to flow through the U.S. supply chain that are seriously harming consumers,” said Attorney General Wilson.

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’.^[1] 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.^[2] Much like with counterfeit versions, these active ingredients come from unregulated, undisclosed sources and pose risks of contamination and inclusion of foreign substances.^[3]”

Attorney General Wilson also recently sent out a consumer alert warning consumers to be cautious when purchasing compounded Tirzepatide and Semaglutide, specifically in unapproved forms such as pills (only available via Rybelsus), sublingual drops, lozenges, or films taken under the tongue, topical skin patches, and nasal sprays.

Attorney General Wilson said, “Protecting consumers is of utmost priority to me and the lengths that these counterfeiters are going to take advantage of consumers and endanger their health must be stopped.”

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 compounding pharmacies illegally participating in this market. It also encourages the FDA to partner with state pharmacy boards to ensure compounded GLP-1 drugs are produced safely and in sanitary environments. 

South Carolina co-led this bipartisan letter with Colorado, Illinois, and Tennessee and was joined by Alaska, Arkansas, 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.

You can read the full letter here.

You can read the consumer alert here.

[1]  See Jordyn Belcourt et al., Bypassing Prescribers and Pharmacists: Online Purchasing of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide “For Research Purposes,” Annals of Pharmacotherapy, p.1 (2024).

[2] See https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/ozempic-mounjaro-no-prescription-websites-726b3928

[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ozempic-underworld-black-market-obesity-drugs-rcna174680