Spanish medicines agency warns of significant increase in online sale of illegal weight-loss injections that pose a serious health risk
The safety regulator for health producrs in Spain has reminded that the public authorised medications, such as Ozempic, are subject to medical prescription and cannot be marketed on the internet
Both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the HMA (Heads of Medicines Agencies - the network of agencies responsible for regulating medicines in their respective countries) have warned of a "sharp increase in the number of illegal medicines marketed as GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, liraglutide and tirzepatide, for weight loss and diabetes." GLP1 receptor analogues are the family of drugs originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes, which have become popular because they aid weight loss. These drugs, whose brand names are Saxenda, Webovy, Rybelsus and Ozempic, mimic a hormone that regulates appetite, creating a feeling of satiety, thereby contributing to body weight loss.
However, the Spanish agency for medicines and health products (Aemps) warns of the proliferation of illegal obesity products appearing on sale on fraudulent websites that do not even contain the active ingredients of these authorised products, but do contain harmful levels of other substances that can pose serious health risks. "People using these products run a very high risk of treatment failure, unexpected and serious health problems and dangerous interactions with other medicines," stated Aemps.
Authorities have identified hundreds of fake Facebook profiles, advertisements and e-commerce listings, many of them hosted outside the EU. Some of these fraudulent websites and social media ads "misuse official logos and use fake recommendations to deceive consumers," said Aemps. Faced with this proliferation, national authorities are actively monitoring illegal providers to remove these products and block their websites, in collaboration with cross-border agents.
How to identify safe retail sites online
Pharmacy websites display a common logo across the EU. Clicking on the image takes you to the corresponding pharmacy's website. If the site does not have this logo or is not listed in a national registry, it is a fraudulent site operating illegally.
The Aemps agency also has CIMA (Centro de Información online de Medicamentos Autorizados), which contains all the information on authorised medicines, and a list of pharmacies that carry out distance selling (Distafarma) .
However, in Spain, authorised medications containing GLP-1 analogues require a medical prescription issued by a licensed medical practitioner and cannot be offered for sale online.
Warning signs that a medicine may be illegal
Aemps states that the first sign to be wary of a website selling such as weight-loss medicines is if it is advertised as "approved" by a national authority, or if it includes official logos of a national authority or the EMA. In this regard, it clarifies that, although some websites may include the logo of the competent regulatory body for the given country, it is important to check that it also displays the aforementioned common EU logo. It should be both/and, not either/or.
The Spanish medicines agency also points out that one should be suspicious of websites claiming that the products they sell are superior to the authorised and prescribed treatments without any scientific evidence to support this.
Finally, Aemps recommends being wary of websites that indicate that the medicines in question are not available through pharmacies or hospital pharmacy services or other outlets within the national health system.
