Fake Ozempic Targets Weight-Loss Market: Forged Batches An International Concern

Criminals are distributing fake versions of the weight-loss drug Ozempic by forging the drug batch numbers pharmaceutical companies use to authenticate drugs and track them in a specified country.

They obtain batch numbers illicitly through a liaison who works at a drugmaker factory or by buying the drug and using scanning technology to copy the packaging, inserts and other materials, Reuters reported.

The World Health Organization sent out a notice in July 2023 on forged batch number MP5B060 and Interpol said that insulin pens were being relabeled and repackaged to resemble Ozempic.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, which is made by Novo Nordisk A/S NVO, causes average weight loss of 15%. The drug is in a class of pharmaceuticals that reduces food cravings and makes the stomach empty more slowly.

Fake Ozempic shots in the U.S., Nigeria and Iraq resembled insulin pens, according to a Reuters’ review of documents and regulator announcements.

Read Also: Novo Nordisk Vs. Eli Lilly: Beyond The Weight-Loss Drug Battle

Anne Devaud, head of Novo’s global product security, told Reuters the company may have identified one source in connection with the forged batch number on counterfeit Ozempic pens. Novo also suspects that the source may have distributed fake versions of other companies’ injectable drugs.

The recurrence of the same batch number suggests a global counterfeiting operation could be responsible for the illegal scheme, according to anti-counterfeiting experts and a WHO official.

Criminals are also stealing drugs from hospitals and other facilities and then adding fake labels and packaging, Novo said. They are also placing any liquid in a vial or stamping out pills and putting those in fake packaging.

At least 18 different batch numbers have been found on fake Ozempic pens in 14 countries since the beginning of 2023. Each batch carries 280,000 pens.

Other pharmaceuticals, such as painkiller Oxycontin and Eli Lilly and Company LLY weight-loss drug Mounjaro, have also been counterfeited, leading to around a million deaths globally, according to the WHO.

Price Action: Most of the major pharmaceutical companies in the weight-loss drug space declined as of mid-day trading on Thursday.

• Novo fell 2.74% to $130.85
• Eli Lilly slipped 3.81% to $910.26
• Amgen Inc. AMGN dropped 2.53% to $322.29
• Pfizer Inc. PFE gained 0.51% to $25.83
• Viking Therapeutics VKTX slipped 2.80% to $56.47

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