The growing demand for popular drugs, experts and industry groups is concerned that the regulator may not be able to keep pace with fake speeds.
“A doctor simply prescribes the prescription. They do not care where the patient buys drugs,” said Saifuddin Ahmed, a public health businessman and epidemiologist at the University of Johns Hopkins in the US.
“It is important that a healthcare provider should be engaged. [regulators are] Not enough, “Ahmed told DW.
The huge demand for products such as vegovi and zipbound is more clearly more pronounced elsewhere.
They contain active compounds called semglutide or tirzatide, which were originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes. But thesis drugs found a side effect that triggers enough, continuous weight loss.
Demand increased from people wishing to lose weight, and this reduced. Fake has filled the difference.
Fake medicines are a global problem
Drug forgery is a major global problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1 out of 10 pharmaceuticals are facts that do not guarantee any health benefits.
While it is primarily in low and moderate-income countries, specific parts of Africa and Asia, about 1% of people in high-ie countries, receive drugs from irregular sources.
In some cases, thesis drugs may have no effect. In other cases, however, the component in fake may lead to adverse reactions or cause new health problems.
The US Regulator, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, “By purchasing online drugs from uncontrolled, unlicensed sources, patients can be exposed to potentially unsafe products, which do not undergo approved evaluation or approval, or do not meet quality standards,” Food and drug administration (FDA) said in 2023.
In 2024, WHO issued a global warning that fake ozmpic batch was Black market floods.
Recently, in July 2025, data from the UK National Pharmacy Association found that 1 out of 5 Britains attempted to treat weight loss in the previous year.
This warned that the high demand for thesis drugs risked that people would “resort to irregular online suppliers rather than regulated pharmacies.”
Where are the people who buy fake medicine?
Irregular pharmaceuticals are being sold through online-keval pharmacies, international drug purchases and organized criminal distributors.
Thesis is not an online store for pharmacies installed digital marketplaces, but sites that offer the drug at a fraction of normal cost.
Drugs can look similar to actual drugs online, but when distributed are often spelling errors on packets or incorrect ingredients listings.
But it is not just fake drugs or placheboses. The regulator has expressed concern about compounding, where drugs approved to produce non-regulated “compounds” for individual patients can be prepared.
In some areas of the world, including the US, trained pharmacists are allowed to compound drugs, but still, the practice is less regulated than strict approval that drug manufacturers should get to bring their products to the market.
For example, when the FDA temporarily allowed the compounding of weight loss drugs to remove the deficiency of the product, some pharmacists used semaglutide salts – which are not approved by regulators – instead of semaglutide instead. Due to this, there were reports of side effects.
And it was not only trained compounding pharmacies that were preparing thesis products in the US. Ahmed said, “This is done in [places] Such as gymnasium and spa. ,
The FDA has now stopped allowing mixed versions of the thesis weight loss drugs, but it is concerned that irregular online pharmacies are still providing sub -standard products.
Increase awareness about fake drugs
To overcome concerns that consumers can seek unprotected products from irregular sources, FDA operates a campaign Besides This provides consumers to identify real pharmaceuticals.
In the European Union, security facilities on drugs are made mandatory, and it includes standardized labeling practices. In a statement to DW, the European Medicine Agency said, “Patients should use online retail vendors registered with national competent authorities only in the European Union member states to reduce the risk of buying sub -standard or fake drugs.”
Europeol, which is responsible for law enforcement for drug crime in member states, has coordinated regular action in the block in collaboration with the US and Colombian partners. In an operation of 2023, more than 1,284 people were charged for fake and abused drugs and aggressive for smuggling doping substances.
Along with local awareness campaign and enforcement initiative, major measures, Ahmed said, to help improve awareness between patients and their health practice.
Ahmed led Ahmed to the Johns Hopkins University’s Besafa initiative, which examines the risk and intervention to prevent sub -standard and fake drug regeneration.
Surveys by Besafe have found that with the US and South Africa, it is known to be safe to buy prescriptions and less of fake or unfavorable events. Heer said that the construction of a trust between consumers, medical doctors and regulators can help avoid the risk of fake and irregular drug purchases.
Edited by Zulfikar Abni
