Fake Ozempic Is Putting Patients at Risk. Here’s How to Spot It.

Experts have grown increasingly concerned about fake versions of Ozempic and popular weight loss drugs. These copycats can look deceptively real, and may contain dangerous substances or entirely different drugs altogether.

In June, the World Health Organization warned that fake batches of Ozempic were found in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil. Also in June, Eli Lilly issued a letter expressing concern that counterfeit versions of its own drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, were being sold online, through social media and at medical spas.

Those who study the counterfeit drug market say these findings are alarming, but not all that surprising. The drugs are expensive, often hard to find and highly sought-after.

“Such high demand and short supply and such a desperate population — that’s a recipe for disaster,” said George Karavetsos, a former director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.

As a result, a counterfeit market has emerged, with phony drugs sold online at low prices without a prescription or any contact with a doctor. Some websites have storefronts to sell what they claim is semaglutide, the substance in Ozempic, which customers can add straight into an online shopping cart. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy said it had identified thousands of websites illegally selling drugs like Ozempic, including fake versions. Patients often have no way to verify what’s in these products.

Shabbir Imber Safdar, the executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, said he worried about both the rise of fake drugs and also the popularity of compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, the substance in Mounjaro. These customized versions of drugs are made at compounding pharmacies and under best practices, contain ingredients that come from facilities registered with the F.D.A. But regulators have warned about adverse events linked to compounded semaglutide, and stressed that compounded medications are subject to less oversight than traditionally approved medications.