The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently seized thousands of counterfeit semaglutide (Ozempic) and warned people not to use these drugs. Semaglutide (Ozempic) is a diabetes drug developed by Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) and has been adapted into a weight loss treatment drug.
The regulator advises wholesalers, retail pharmacies, healthcare practitioners and patients to check the products they receive and not distribute or sell products marked with lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057.
The FDA and Novo Nordisk are testing the seized products, and the identity, quality or safety of the drugs is not yet known.
As people turn their attention to a series of new drugs that can treat weight loss, demand for semaglutide has also surged, which has also promoted Novo Nordisk's excellent capital market performance, with its stock price rising 48% this year.
Novo Nordisk said it has been working to increase supplies of semaglutide and related weight-loss drug Wegovy, saying shortages in the European market are expected to last into next year.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial guidance several times this year, supported by demand for its weight-loss drug. Goldman Sachs analysts predict that the obesity market will reach $100 billion by 2030, and by then Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company (LLY.US), which produces similar drugs, will account for about 80% of the weight-loss drug market.
The FDA is not the first regulator to express concerns about counterfeit semaglutide. The European Medicines Agency issued a warning in October about counterfeit semaglutide injection devices.
The FDA said it was aware of five adverse reactions to counterfeit semaglutide, but none were serious and consistent with known common adverse reactions to genuine semaglutide.