One of India’s largest e-commerce markets is collaborating with pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk to combat the illegal sale of weight-loss drugs, according to a Reuters report on Monday, as these drugs grow increasingly popular and face limited supplies, resulting in a rise in the market for counterfeit and potentially dangerous products.
Key Facts
Novo Nordisk’s legal team in India has been working with IndiaMART executives to establish a “framework” that allows the company to report counterfeit listings on the site and curb illegal sales, according to a Reuters report citing an anonymous source. (Novo Nordisk did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.)
The source stated that dozens of counterfeit listings have been removed from the platform since the company, which holds a patent for its active ingredient semaglutide, reached out in early October.
Neither Wegovy nor Ozempic, which also contains semaglutide but is licensed to help people with diabetes manage blood sugar levels (and is widely used for weight loss off-label), have approval for sale in India. Novo Nordisk’s director in India, Vikrant Shrutria, told Reuters that the company plans to officially launch Wegovy in the country in 2026, acknowledging that tracking illegal sellers in India is challenging.
Counterfeit products in India are part of a growing influx of fake products claiming to contain drugs such as semaglutide and terzepatide – the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s newly approved weight-loss drug and diabetes medication Munjaro – which officials warn could represent the worst wave of counterfeit lifestyle medications since erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra.
What We Don’t Know
It is challenging to grasp the full scale of the counterfeit drug problem and how it could impact Novo’s legitimate sales or individuals who believe they are using genuine products. Regulatory and law enforcement capabilities vary widely in detecting counterfeit drugs, meaning many fake products go undetected or counterfeit sellers are not found and stopped from listing other fake products in the future. There are often disagreements and discrepancies between countries about who is responsible for dealing with counterfeit products, making it harder to locate and compare cases across borders. For example, some drug officials in countries like Italy, Germany, and France have said that police and customs are responsible. Even if cases are found, there is no globally recognized definition of what constitutes a counterfeit drug to compare rates across regions, complicating matters further as some cases may include genuine products sold illegally.
What to Watch
Jim Mancuso, an official with the Intellectual Property Rights Homeland Security Agency, told Reuters that the agency is working with the EU law enforcement agency and Interpol, along with 23 other agencies, to track weight-loss drugs. An anonymous Interpol official indicated that counterfeit weight-loss drugs are likely to be the focus of the agency’s annual counterfeit drug report when it is released next year. In September, Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority told Politico that it, in coordination with the country’s customs agency, seized 159 units of semaglutide in the first seven months of 2023. This figure increased five-fold from the total of 2022. By late October, the agency informed Reuters that the number of seized units had risen to 233. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency told Reuters that reports related to counterfeit GLP-1 products – compounds that mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone responsible for regulating appetite and blood sugar in the body, including semaglutide and terzepatide – have risen from 2 in 2022 to as many as 20 this year. Illegal sales have also been detected in Belgium and Denmark, although officials said these products are mostly genuine products sold illegally online, according to a Politico report.
Background
Homepage
The World Health Organization considers substandard and falsified medical products one of the “urgent health challenges of the next decade.” It stated that such products are “manufactured to mimic or replace similar authorized products” and may contain “no active ingredient, or incorrect active ingredient, or incorrect quantity of the correct active ingredient.” Fake or poor-quality medicines can be dangerous, even fatal, to individuals and cause problems for health systems, supply chains, and entire communities, the WHO warned, adding that “no country has been unaffected by this issue.” Counterfeiting can affect anything from cheap generic painkillers to expensive modern drugs, with some products found to be toxic and many “produced in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions by unqualified persons.” Although some medicines can be relatively easily made in clandestine laboratories, drugs like semaglutide are considered relatively complex compounds that are difficult to produce and must be made under clean conditions due to their injectable nature.
Astonishing Fact
A police officer from Interpol told Reuters that many counterfeit drugs for obesity treatment are being sold in wealthy countries, which contrasts sharply with poorer regions where most counterfeit drugs are typically marketed. This is due to the high prices of legitimate drugs when sold legally.
What to Watch For
Jim Mankuso, an official at the Intellectual Property Rights section of the Department of Homeland Security, told Reuters that the agency is working with European Union law enforcement and Interpol as well as 23 other agencies to track weight loss drugs, and an Interpol official who asked to remain anonymous said that counterfeit weight loss drugs are likely to be a focus of the agency’s annual counterfeit drug report when it is issued next year. In September, Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority told Politico that it, in coordination with the country’s customs authority, seized 159 units of semaglutide in the first seven months of 2023. This figure rose five-fold from the total for 2022. By late October, the agency told Reuters that the number of seized units had increased to 233 units. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency told Reuters that the number of reports related to counterfeit GLP-1 products – compounds that mimic the action of the hormone GLP-1, which regulates appetite and blood sugar in the body, including semaglutide and tirzepatide – had risen from 2 in 2022 to as many as 20 this year. Illegal sales have also been detected in Belgium and Denmark, although officials said these products are mostly legitimate products being sold illegally online, according to the Politico report.
Main Background
The World Health Organization considers substandard and falsified medical products one of the “urgent health challenges of the next decade.” It stated that such products are “manufactured to mimic or replace similar authorized products” and may contain “no active ingredient, or incorrect active ingredient, or incorrect quantity of the correct active ingredient.” Fake or poor-quality medicines can be dangerous, even fatal, to individuals and cause problems for health systems, supply chains, and entire communities, the WHO warned, adding that “no country has been unaffected by this issue.” Counterfeiting can affect anything from cheap generic painkillers to expensive modern drugs, with some products found to be toxic and many “produced in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions by unqualified persons.” Although some medicines can be relatively easily made in clandestine laboratories, drugs like semaglutide are considered relatively complex compounds that are difficult to produce and must be made under clean conditions due to their injectable nature.
Fact
Amazing
A member of the International Criminal Police Organization told Reuters that many counterfeit obesity medications are being sold in wealthy countries, which contrasts sharply with poorer areas where most counterfeit drugs are typically marketed. This is attributed to the high prices of original drugs when sold legally.
What to Watch For
Jim Mancosu, a member of the Intellectual Property Rights Section at the Department of Homeland Security, told Reuters that the agency is working with the European law enforcement agency, INTERPOL, and 23 other agencies to track weight loss drugs. An INTERPOL official who requested anonymity said that counterfeit weight loss drugs are likely to be the focus of the agency’s annual counterfeit drug report when it is released next year. In September, Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority told Politico that it had, in coordination with the country’s customs authority, seized 159 units of semaglutide in the first seven months of 2023. This figure has increased fivefold from the total for 2022. By late October, the agency told Reuters that the number of seized units had risen to 233 units. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency told Reuters that reports related to counterfeit GLP-1 products—compounds that mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone responsible for regulating appetite and blood sugar in the body, including semaglutide and tirzepatide—had increased from 2 in 2022 to as many as 20 this year. Illegal sales were also discovered in Belgium and Denmark, although officials said that these products are largely genuine products sold illegally online, according to the Politico report.
Main Background
The World Health Organization considers substandard and counterfeit medical products one of the “urgent health challenges of the next decade.” It stated that such products are “manufactured to imitate or replace similar licensed products” and may contain “no active ingredient, wrong active ingredient, or incorrect quantity of the correct active ingredient.” Counterfeit or poor-quality drugs can be dangerous, even fatal, to individuals, and pose problems for health systems, supply chains, and entire communities, the WHO warned, adding that “no country has remained untouched by this issue.” Counterfeiting can affect anything from cheap over-the-counter pain relievers to modern, expensive medications, with some products found to be toxic and many “produced under unsanitary and unhealthy conditions by unqualified individuals.” While some drugs can be made relatively easily in clandestine laboratories, drugs like semaglutide are considered relatively complex compounds that are difficult to produce, and clean conditions must be maintained during their production due to their injectable nature.
Astonishing Fact
A member of the International Criminal Police Organization told Reuters that many counterfeit obesity medications are being sold in wealthy countries, which contrasts sharply with poorer areas where most counterfeit drugs are typically marketed. This is attributed to the high prices of original drugs when sold legally.
What to Watch For
Jim Mancosu, a member of the Intellectual Property Rights Section at the Department of Homeland Security, told Reuters that the agency is working with the European law enforcement agency, INTERPOL, and 23 other agencies to track weight loss drugs. An INTERPOL official who requested anonymity said that counterfeit weight loss drugs are likely to be the focus of the agency’s annual counterfeit drug report when it is released next year. In September, said
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/12/18/fake-wegovy-pharma-giant-novo-nordisk-reportedly-steps-up-efforts-tackling-illegal-weight-loss-drugs-sold-online/
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