Hundreds of online sellers are offering Eli Lilly’ & Co.’s
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retatrutide weight-loss drug for sale, even though the drug is years away from gaining regulatory approval, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday based on its own review of the matter. The bulk of the sellers appears to be Chinese who are shipping directly to U.S. consumers from sites such as one called Made-in-China.com. Some of the sites, that appear to be based in the U.S., are marketing their offers on Facebook
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LinkedIn
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and Reddit and a few have put ads on Instagram and Google
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In one instance, a fitness influencer is peddling the drug via a newsletter. The report comes after the Journal in August reported that more than 50 sites are selling knockoff versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide, the active ingredients in Ozempic and Mounjaro respectively. Those are diabetes and weight-loss drugs developed by Novo Nordisk
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and Eli Lilly that have gained FDA approval. The FDA sent warning letters to two websites following the Journal’s article. The proliferation of knock-off versions of weight-loss drugs has alarmed the regulator and health professionals.
