Overview

• Several people in Austria were hospitalized after being injected with counterfeit versions of Ozempic, a popular diabetes drug that is being used off-label for weight loss; authorities suggest that insulin was substituted for the active ingredient, semaglutide, causing hypoglycemic attacks and seizures.
• The bogus Ozempic injections were reportedly supplied by a doctor in Austria; the fake syringes are identifiable by their darker blue color and transparent glass, with needles four millimeters in length as opposed to the genuine six-millimeter needles.
• The European Medicines Agency has warned about a proliferation of fake Ozempic injections in the UK and the EU; the Federal Criminal Police Office in Vienna has noted that these counterfeit products typically bear labels in German.
• A global shortage of Ozempic, due to its increasing use as a weight loss drug despite being primarily designed to manage blood glucose levels in Type 2 diabetes patients, has led to a surge in the black market activity and counterfeit drugs.
• Other countries are urged to be vigilant for these counterfeit Ozempic pens, particularly those from dubious sources; affected batches from sources other than pharmacies may still be in circulation.
• Belgium is planning on banning the off-label use of Ozempic as a weight loss drug due to a shortage; likewise, in the UK, prescriptions of Ozempic for non-diabetic patients have been halted.