Scams, low-quality products a risk when ordering semaglutide from online pharmacies
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Key takeaways:
- Researchers received nothing from three of six counterfeit semaglutide products ordered online.
- Measured semaglutide exceeded the labeled amount by 29% to 39% in the three products received.
Quality testing of three counterfeit semaglutide products found low purity and more measured semaglutide than what was on the label, according to a research letter published in JAMA Network Open.
In a qualitative study, researchers purchased two 0.25 mg prefilled pens of semaglutide from six online vendors. In addition to finding irregularities in the three products delivered, the researchers reported not receiving anything from three of the vendors.
“Half of the products we purchased were simply nondelivery scams where they took our money and asked for more in order to ‘clear customs,’ even though this was confirmed as fraudulent,” Tim K. Mackey, MAS, PhD, professor in the global health program at University of California, San Diego, told Healio. “These scams can be extremely harmful to consumers, especially those without the means to afford these medicines through authorized channels.”
Mackey and colleagues conducted searches on Google and Bing for websites advertising the sale of semaglutide without a prescription. The search identified 317 online pharmacies of which 42.27% were considered illegal pharmacy operations. Semaglutide was purchased from six online vendors deemed not recommended or rogue by LegitScript or the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. A checklist from the International Pharmaceutical Federation was used to quantify counterfeit or falsification risks of the products from illegal online retailers compared with authentic versions of 1 mg injectable semaglutide (Ozempic, Novo Nordisk).
Of the six online vendors, three offered prefilled 0.25 mg semaglutide pens and three sold vials of lyophilized semaglutide to be reconstituted to solution. Prices for the smallest dose and quantity ranged from $113 to $360.
All three vendors that sent no products requested extra payment to supposedly clear customs. These requests were confirmed as fraudulent by customs agencies.
Of the three products researchers received, all scored eight or nine points on the International Pharmaceutical Federation checklist compared with 22 points for authentic semaglutide. During quality testing, one product had an elevated level of endotoxins. All three products had semaglutide purity levels of 7% to 14% compared with advertised 99% purity. The semaglutide in each product exceeded the labeled amount by 29% to 39%.
Mackey said findings showed how important it is for providers to make sure patients are receiving semaglutide from a legitimate source.
“For buying online, patients can self-prescribe when not necessary or when possibly contraindicated, they can be exposed to low-quality product, they can self-administer a product with the wrong or no instructions, and this may happen completely outside a physician-patient relationship needed for effective use of GLP-1s.”
Mackey said the study was conducted in July 2023 and more studies should be performed to see whether any changes have taken place, particularly with the online pharmacies reviewed in the study.
“Equally, consumer perception and behaviors toward online sourcing of GLP-1s needs to be fully researched to understand the motivations of consumers when taking this risk,” Mackey said.
For more information:
Tim K. Mackey, MAS, PhD, can be reached at tkmackey@ucsd.edu.
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