April 15, 2025
A few of the fraudulent merchandise embody counterfeit needles, ensuing within the company not having the ability to certify if the needles are sterile
The Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging sufferers and healthcare professionals to verify the legitimacy of their Ozempic prescriptions after the company seized a whole lot of pretend items of the diabetes drug in the US, NBC Information stories.
The FDA acquired a warning from Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and the load loss drug Wegovy, stating that pretend 1-milligram injections have been being distributed exterior of its licensed provide chain, which means it could have entered the market via unauthorized distributors or resellers.
Counterfeit merchandise—with the lot quantity labeled PAR0362 and serial numbers beginning with the primary eight digits 51746517—have been seized on April 9.
Faux variations of the favored weight reduction drug are completely different from compounded variations of the drug.
In accordance with WRAL, the FDA says pharmacies and people ought to solely buy the Ozempic injection 1 mg and different semaglutide-containing medicines via licensed distributors of Novo Nordisk to ensure sufferers are getting the actual factor.
A few of the fraudulent merchandise included counterfeit needles, ensuing within the company not having the ability to certify if the needles have been sterile. With neither Novo Nordisk nor the FDA in a position to verify the components or effectiveness of counterfeit merchandise, the protection dangers of taking them may improve
Some compounded variations—“basically a duplicate”—of accessible industrial medication are permitted by the FDA however solely underneath specific circumstances like shortages. When Ozempic and Wegovy skilled a scarcity in February 2025, the FDA introduced the scarcity was resolved, ending the sale of compounded variations.
The company claims it’s conscious of six completely different reactions linked to the lot however none related to the fraudulent merchandise. The actual Ozempic merchandise include their very own unwanted side effects, equivalent to abdomen issues, so it’s not clear if the antagonistic occasions have been brought on by typical utilization.
The drug has acquired some backlash. In September 2024, singer Macy Grey was rushed to the hospital after dropping her breath whereas filming an episode of The Surreal Life. She used her confessional digital camera time to open up about how “terrible” she felt on the time.
“This sucks as a result of I’m right here all the best way in Colombia, and I actually simply wish to give it my all, however I simply really feel terrible, and I simply need it to go away,” she mentioned. “This isn’t going effectively. I can’t even stroll very a lot with out dropping my breath.”
Different celebrities who used the product have raved in regards to the outcomes together with Oprah Winfrey, who known as the remedy a “miracle” for folks preventing weight problems and diabetes.
The FDA encourages those that suspect counterfeit merchandise to report them by calling a native FDA shopper grievance coordinator.
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