The increasing demand and high cost of diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may lead some people to make a dangerous decision: buying these drugs without a prescription from an illegal online pharmacy.
These injectable drugs are not approved for over-the-counter use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but a new study found that they are available online without a prescription and that there is a good chance that consumers who buy Ozempic and Wegovy this way are receiving counterfeit products — or potentially paying for drugs they aren’t receiving at all.
“It doesn’t surprise me that some of these sellers are simply scamming people and not sending any product at all, while others are selling products that are not authorized,” says one of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Tim Mackey, a professor of global health at the University of California, San Diego.
“This is a common phenomenon with online drug sales through websites that do not require a prescription,” adds Dr. Mackey. “Buyer beware.”
Illegal online pharmacies profit from the desperation to obtain Ozempic
The researchers then purchased semaglutide from six of these online pharmacies, all of which promised to be effective against obesity and for weight loss. Prices for the smallest doses and quantities ranged from $113 to $360.
Only three orders arrived. The other sellers were scams and demanded additional payments of between $650 and $1,200 to supposedly clear customs. Investigators confirmed to customs authorities that these demands were fraudulent.
Laboratory tests of the three orders that the researchers actually received showed that all products contained too much semaglutide in each injection dose – with concentrations that were up to 39 percent too high. One sample showed evidence of endotoxin, a toxic substance that E. coli and other bacteria that can cause infections in humans.
The remaining websites identified in the study did not offer medications for sale. These included 615 news and information sites and 148 telemedicine websites that required consultation to issue a prescription before purchase.
What are the risks of purchasing Semaglutide from an illegal source?
For consumers who order from illegal online pharmacies, the main risk is receiving a product that is unsafe or ineffective because it does not contain the recommended dose of semaglutide, says Adam Gilden, MD, associate professor and associate director of the Weight Management and Wellness Clinic at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.
“If the product is contaminated, there is a more serious risk of infection,” says Dr. Gilden, who was not involved in the new study.
One limitation of the study is that scientists tested very few semaglutide samples, the researchers noted. In addition, the researchers only purchased products from online pharmacies that were deemed “unreliable” or not recommended by leading pharmaceutical industry associations, making it possible that the results may not apply to other websites. They also purchased the cheapest products available, another possible reason why the results may not be representative of all online pharmacies.
Still, the findings should serve as a warning to patients to stay away from online pharmacies that sell semaglutide without a prescription, says Dr. Jody Dushay, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and an endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved in the new study.
“Given the high out-of-pocket costs and limited or no insurance coverage, these websites can seem very, very attractive,” says Dr. Dushay. “Many look professional and reputable, and some have accompanying television advertisements. Many use the words ‘same active ingredient as Ozempic.'”
However, consumers should avoid any company that claims to sell semaglutide without a prescription and ongoing medical supervision, Dushay says. These products may be compounded or custom-mixed to contain different forms of semaglutide, such as semaglutide salt, which may have different side effects than Ozempic or Wegovy, be contaminated, or cause an allergic reaction.
For all these reasons, the FDA has previously warned consumers against purchasing semaglutide compounding products from online pharmacies, Dushay points out.
“Be sure to stay away from companies that sell ‘semaglutide’ without a prescription and without ongoing medical supervision, or that manufacture the product outside the United States,” advises Dushay. “If you get a prescription for semaglutide, make sure the pharmacy you go to is licensed and located in the United States.”
