Weight loss injection: Medicines agency warns about counterfeit Ozempic pens

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“Ozempic”
Fake weight loss injection in circulation: patient in clinic in Austria

The diabetes drug Ozempic is experiencing hype as a weight-loss injection. However, the EMA is now warning against counterfeit pens.

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“Ozempic” has been experiencing hype for months. The diabetes medication is often used as a weight loss injection. Now the European Medicines Agency is warning about counterfeits. A patient in Austria had to be treated in a clinic after taking a fake.

In In Austria, a patient had to be treated in a hospital after using a suspected counterfeit diabetes medication. The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) announced this on Thursday in Vienna. The authority emphasized that counterfeits of the drug “Ozempic”, which is also used as a weight loss agent, have not been quality tested. Due to “possible contamination and unknown ingredients, these counterfeits can also be life-threatening,” warned the BASG. No further information was provided about the patient’s condition.

Weight loss syringe: European Medicines Agency warns about counterfeit “Ozempic” pens

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had previously warned in Amsterdam that counterfeit “Ozempic” diabetes pens had appeared in various EU countries and Great Britain. The spray aids with labels in German came from wholesalers in Austria and Germany.

“Ozempic” has recently been increasingly used as a weight loss agent, although it is only approved for the treatment of diabetes. According to BASG, this means that the drug is only available to a limited extent for diabetes patients. “This shortage of the drug is apparently being exploited by criminal organizations to bring counterfeits of “Ozempic” onto the market,” the authority said.

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