MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s a shot at better health that comes with a promise to help shed the pounds. Demand for drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound continues to grow.
The first was designed for diabetics, and now some are FDA-approved solely for weight loss.
“The explosion in the past couple of years has been insane for the GLP-1s … and part of it is because for most people, they do work,” said Dr. Virginia Weaver.
Weaver practices at Methodist Medical Group-Weight Management and Wellness. Board certified in both surgery and obesity medicine, she’s spent a career spanning two decades helping people who’ve struggled with their weight.
“Ultimately, obesity is a disease at the cellular level, and that’s why it has to be treated so aggressively,” Weaver explained.
How it’s treated, Weaver says, has evolved tremendously with patients seeing what she described as “life-altering” progress.
“It used to be kind of an either/or. You either did the surgery route or you did the oral medications. Now, what we’ve seen with the onset of the injectables is that we are mixing the both of them, and that’s where we’re starting to see some really good results … with the injectable medications, we expect to see about 15 to 20% of their total body weight loss,” said Weaver.
“It’s been a total game changer, quite frankly,” added Weaver.
Weight-loss drug prices can top $1K
However, paying for that change can be costly.
The list price for the medications commonly referred to as GLP-1s can be more than a thousand dollars.
New savings programs have cut that in half, but still, it’s not cheap if you’re paying out of pocket.
Weaver told NewsNation affiliate WREG, “It’s hard to tell a patient, hey, you might have to pay $500 a month if your employer doesn’t cover this medication every month for the rest of your life.”
So, many have turned to cheaper copycats or compounded versions of the drugs.
“Pharmacies started compounding these medications when there was a huge shortage of the drug,” Weaver explained.
However, the Food and Drug Administration recently declared the shortage over, essentially banning compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide.
Weaver said, “Still with the high price for the brand name medications, and if compounding pharmacies do slow down or get shut down, people are out there searching for other options. And that’s where things get dangerous.”
Knockoff weight-loss drugs could be deadly: Doctor
Right now, there’s no sign of a slowdown. From weight-loss clinics to wellness spas and online, knockoff GLP-1s are everywhere and being heavily promoted as the answer to a summer slim down.
In fact, when the WREG asked the FDA how it planned to enforce the new rule, a spokesperson said they’re using a “risk-based approach” and will “take action when violations” occur.
The agency recently posted a document calling out concerns over “unapproved GLP-1 drugs” like dosing errors, saying usage is “risky for patients.”
It said as of late April, it had received 1,000 reports of adverse events related to compounded versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide.
In addition to the potential dangers associated with copycats, the agency has also warned about straight-up counterfeits.
Weaver outlined her concerns with counterfeit weight-loss medication.
“If there is, contaminants, allergens in it, that sort of thing, and that gets injected. I could foresee patients dying from these sorts of, black market, if you will, medications,” said Weaver.
Police warn of black market weight-loss drugs
A Tennessee woman is now facing charges, accused of running a black market weight-loss drug operation.
“We started getting complaints from people in the neighborhood. Hey, this lady is selling off her front porch,” said Johnie Carter, director of the West Tennessee Drug Task Force.
The woman allegedly behind the operation, Emily Arnold, faces several charges including selling a legend drug, impersonating a licensed professional, reckless endangerment and money laundering.
Carter says Arnold sold the supposed weight-loss drugs from her website and to two clinics, Medina Weight Loss and Wellness and Haywood Weight Loss and Wellness. The latter has since closed according to the company’s Facebook page.
Between the clinics and Arnold’s home, agents seized nearly 700 vials and $150,000.
“It’s buyer beware,” Carter said. “You don’t know what you’re putting in your body.”
The task force sent the products to Eli Lily, the maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro.
“Currently preliminary testing, not full testing, says it’s not Tirzepatide in a bottle that’s purported to be what Tirzpatide is..it’s just what they consider to be water… like a sterile water.”
Carter says people trying to save money with what they think is a cheaper weight-loss medication can be costly to their health and is no different from buying illegal street drugs.
“Don’t buy off of anybody’s front porch. Go and get it through legal channels,” Carter said.
“I would 1,000% steer everybody, like under no circumstances should you be going online and getting it from anybody that is not reputable,” added Weaver.
She continued, “And by reputable, we mean either you’re getting it from a pharmacy … or a reputable compounding pharmacy overseen by PharmDs and things like that.”
How to avoid fake weight-loss drugs
Weaver said patients interested in weight-loss medication should seek advice from their doctor.
“I think the best place to start is with your primary care doctor. Start there. They all are very well-versed in the medications. Obviously, since they’ve been used in diabetes for so long. So, that’s always the best place to start,” said Weaver.
She said patients should avoid places that don’t require an assessment or address medical history — and ask where they get the product from.
Weaver said, “Not only is it fair to ask the doctor, it is your duty and responsibility to your own health to ask where that drug is coming from, if it’s being mixed with anything.”
The FDA posted these side-by-side pictures of real versus fake Ozempic.
The color and wording on the needle tab of the counterfeit are slightly different. The agency also issued additional guidance about how to spot fakes.
Arnold, the woman arrested in Tennessee, is due in court in July. WREG reached out to her attorney for comment and has not heard back.