(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had warned the website ozempen.com for illegally selling a weight-loss drug made by Novo Nordisk AG.
Surging demand for GLP-1 drugs that promote weight loss, such as Novo’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Maunjaro, is outstripping supply, expanding the global market for counterfeit products.
The FDA said the website was selling unapproved versions of the obesity and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
“These products are available only upon prescription from a licensed physician,” the health authority said.
Last month, the World Health Organization issued a warning about counterfeit medicines claiming to contain the active ingredients found in Ozempic and Wegovy.
Lilly and Novo have sued several companies to block the sale of products they say contain the active ingredients tirzepatide and semaglutide, which are used in popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs, respectively.
(Reporting by Kristy Santosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
