Growing demand for Ozempic and Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk, has fueled a rise in illegal sales of weight-loss drugs in Denmark, where the pharmaceutical company is based, the Danish Medicines Agency reported.
The agency said in a statement released Tuesday that authorities are aware of 26 websites illegally selling what they claim to be Ozempic and Wegovy.
These drugs, initially prescribed as weekly injections to treat type 2 diabetes, have since gained immense popularity among the general public due to their miraculous effects on weight loss.
“There are no surprises or new trends that we were not already aware of. Due to the high demand and media attention, we unfortunately expected an increase in the illegal supply of the preparations of semaglutide Ozempic and Wegovy,” said Jeanna Majland, director of the Danish Medicines Agency. ” said in the statement, which was previously reported by Bloomberg.
The US Food and Drug Administration has also reportedly launched an investigation into so-called “fake-Zempic” after health authorities became aware of numerous fraudulent schemes to traffic counterfeit Ozempic in the US.
Additionally, the European Medicines Agency issued a warning last month against counterfeit Ozempic pens, which the organization said bore German-language labels “falsely labeled as diabetes medicine Ozempic” containing 1 milligram of semaglutide for injection.
Ozempic and Wegovy are both semaglutide injections, a powerful type of medication that mimics the actions of the hormone GLP-1, which the pancreas releases after eating, making you feel full.
Since the Ozempic and Wegovy craze took hold, their appetite-suppressing benefits have taken Hollywood and non-celebrities so much by storm that even Walmart said the drugs were forcing shoppers to cut back on their shopping.
Customers don’t seem to mind the series of bizarre side effects that have emerged, including Ozempic buttocks, where users claim their behinds flattened along with their stomach.
Users then warned about the Ozempic finger, whose fingers and wrists were also rapidly shrinking in size, making women fear their engagement rings would fall off.
The latest – and much more serious – side effect saw patients report the drugs triggered thoughts of suicide and self-harm.
Representatives for Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Last month, the pharmaceutical giant overtook French luxury empire LVMH as Europe’s most valuable company.
Novo Nordisk saw its market capitalization rise to $424.7 billion in September 1 trading in London, beating the luxury retail conglomerate owned by Bernard Arnault’s family.
On the same day, LVMH – which has been Europe’s most valuable company for two and a half years and includes the Louis Vuitton, Dior and Sephora brands – had a market capitalization of $420.1 billion, according to Refinitiv data cited by the Reuters news agency. .
As of Wednesday, the Danish multinational’s market value had fallen to $333 billion.
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