CHARLOTTE — The FBI is urging people to stay away from counterfeit weight loss drugs.
The agency says the fake drugs claim to have semaglutide – the key ingredient in drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, our partners at WSB-TV report.
Pharmacies make weight loss medications by combining two or more drugs but the FBI says they’re seeing more reports of counterfeit drugs with unregulated ingredients.
Some either contain zero weight loss medication or a dangerous amount of it, The Food and Drug Administration notes.
“The FDA has warned a number of compounding pharmacies are actually doing compounding with starting ingredients that are not approved,” says Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines.
The FBI says the fake drugs could cause serious health problems like gastrointestinal, nervous system, cardiac, and psychiatric disorders – and in some cases death.
The FBI says if you’re looking for weight loss drugs, make sure to avoid too-good-to-be-true prices, unlicensed providers, and online offers.
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