Counterfeit Ozempic Raises Alarms - Lebanon Reports Hypoglycemia Cases

Lebanese health officials have reported eleven cases of severe hypoglycemia linked to suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk A/S's NVO diabetes medication Ozempic.

Hypoglycemia is a condition in which the blood sugar (glucose) level is lower than the standard range. It is often related to diabetes treatment.

Rita Karam, a director at the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, highlighted suspicions regarding the counterfeit drugs, emphasizing that the dosage found in the injector pens significantly differed from that of authentic Ozempic.

The surging demand for Ozempic and similar weight-loss medications like Eli Lilly And Co's LLY Mounjaro and Novo's Wegovy has spurred a global rise in counterfeit products. 

Reports from Reuters interviews with various officials underscored that at least 17 countries, including the UK, Germany, Egypt, and Russia, have detected counterfeit Ozempic, urging heightened vigilance among pharmacies and consumers due to uncertainty about their contents.

Reuters noted that the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health had issued two Ozempic-related recalls in January 2023, and no reports of potentially counterfeit Ozempic surfaced in Lebanon in 2022.

Novo Nordisk is actively investigating and reporting any counterfeit cases to local authorities, aiming to assist healthcare providers in the Middle East by developing guides to identify fake drugs.

Price Action: NVO shares are down 0.14% at $101.29 on the last check Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.