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Counterfeit weight loss drugs sold online, feeding demand for cheaper options
Slickly designed websites. Unbelievable markdowns. A simple online search for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic or Wegovy, can lead consumers down a rabbit hole of seemingly reputable online pharmacies in search of weight loss drugs at a discounted price. The temptation is clear for many Americans, but some of those deals come with a potentially deadly cost.
U.S. consumers pay higher prices for weight loss drugs than any other country in the world, according to a 2023 KFF study. Cheaper alternatives online, however, are not always what they seem.
“People are really taking a risk by ordering these products online and not knowing the supplier that’s sending it to them,” said Salvatore Ingrassia, port director for Customs and Border Protection at New York’s JFK Airport.
CBP agents are on the front lines, intercepting counterfeit prescription drugs, which pour into the country. These include knockoffs of popular weight loss drugs.
Customs officials allowed CBS News a rare look into their operations, showcasing seized misbranded or counterfeit medications. Over two days, agents confiscated products from countries including Israel and Bangladesh. One shipment of suspected counterfeit Wegovy was hidden inside a Mickey Mouse puzzle for children.
While these counterfeit drugs may look legitimate, they often contain dangerous substances.
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“We’ve found things like antifreeze and incorrect amounts of active ingredients in these products,” said Ingrassia.
In September, customs agents in Cincinnati’s port inspected 63 shipments containing apparently counterfeit and unapproved medications. That included several boxes containing counterfeit Ozempic, Wegovy and Trulicity injections. Other medications, including Botox and minoxidil, used for hair growth, were also seized by the authorities.
The FDA is taking action
The Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings to multiple online pharmacies selling suspected counterfeit products. The letters demand the sites stop selling the products that are in violation of FDA’s standards or face legal action. Despite their efforts, a quick internet search by CBS News in September 2024 found these websites remain active or redirect users to other sites offering these questionable drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration told CBS News it cannot comment on enforcement actions.
The health concerns of counterfeits
The dangers to health are real. Novo Nordisk reported one counterfeit pen contained the diabetes medicine insulin. The user was hospitalized after administering the counterfeit pen.
Authorities have arrested individuals involved in selling counterfeit drugs, including a Long Island woman suspected of selling misbranded Ozempic online. The woman pleaded not guilty to the charges and is out on bond. Court documents show that one victim reported lesions and infections after using the medication.
Former FDA director of investigations in the Chicago area, Ricki Chase, an expert in tracking counterfeit products, warns consumers to stay vigilant.
“If you’re buying a drug legitimately priced at thousands of dollars for just $65, you should be asking questions,” she said.
What can consumers do?
Chase advises consumers to only buy these drugs with a prescription from well-known pharmacies. Real weight-loss medication pens should have unique identification codes and proper labeling.
If the label smears or appears misaligned, it’s likely counterfeit. Uneven glue seams, lot numbers with crooked print, and cheap looking colors are also signs the products could be counterfeit, according to Chase.
Ultimately, she believes the best defense is using sound judgment.
“Don’t risk your health trying to get healthy,” she said.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, said in a statement to CBS News: “It’s important that patients are aware that Novo Nordisk is the only company in the U.S. with FDA-approved medicines containing the main ingredient semaglutide. FDA has not approved any generic versions of semaglutide.”
Eli Lilly, makers of Mounjaro and Zepbound, also used for weight loss, told CBS News: “Lilly has taken steps to help inform people about the risks posed by counterfeit, fake, and unsafe or untested products, creating lilly.com/real-medicine which includes a tool to help determine whether you have genuine Lilly product. “
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has sent up a Safe Site Search Tool which allows users to verify if a website selling medications has been vetted. You can also review a list of the current websites that have been accredited by the NABP here.
CBS News
In Trump 2020 election case, Jack Smith asks judge for time to determine “appropriate course”
Washington — Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the federal district court in Washington to forego current deadlines in the case against President-elect Donald Trump related to the 2020 election to allow prosecutors more time to assess the “unprecedented circumstance” arising out of his election Tuesday to serve a second term in the White House.
Smith told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in a one-paragraph filing that his office would like additional time to “determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” He said prosecutors will provide more information to the court by Dec. 2.
Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House on Tuesday and will be sworn-in for a second term on Jan. 20. As a result of Trump’s victory, the Justice Department and special counsel’s office are discussing how to wind down the ongoing federal prosecutions against Trump.
The Justice Department has a longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Citing the outcome of the election and Trump’s upcoming inauguration, Smith told the court that the deadlines in the pretrial schedule set by Chutkan should be tossed out “to afford the government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance.”
Trump is facing four federal charges in the case arising out of what Smith alleges was an unlawful scheme to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 election. He pleaded not guilty and has denied wrongdoing.
Proceedings in the case were halted for months as Trump pursued claims that he was immune from federal prosecution all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents cannot face charges arising from official actions taken while in the White House.
The case returned to Chutkan in August, and a grand jury returned a new indictment against Trump that narrowed the allegations against him to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. The two sides have been arguing in court papers about whether the new charges can stand.
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More than 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina on Wednesday, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. The fugitive monkeys had not been captured as of Friday morning.
Here is what we know so far:
Where exactly did the monkeys escape in South Carolina?
The primates broke loose from Alpha Genesis in Yemassee, Beaufort County in South Carolina.
The company confirmed 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an enclosure at one of the company’s facilities.
The Yemassee Police Department said on Thursday that traps with bait were set up and thermal imaging cameras were being used in an effort to capture the monkeys.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” police said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
How did the monkeys escape the research facility?
Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, told CBS News on Thursday that a caretaker inadvertently failed to secure a door at the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam free.
“It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” he said. “It was a group of 50 and 7 stayed behind and 43 bolted out the door.”
He told CBS News on Friday that while they have not captured any of the monkeys, they are staying close to the facility.
“They’re just being goofy monkeys jumping back and forth playing with each other,” he said. “It’s kind of like a playground situation here.”
Westergaard said the company has put out baited traps but the monkeys are not going inside them yet.
“They’re jumping down and taking the food and then jumping back up on the fence and the tree line,” he added. “They’re watching us the same way we’re watching them.”
He acknowledged that it would be a long process to get them back and that they didn’t want to chase the monkeys because that would spook them and make them run away.
“We’ve got them very close,” Westergaard said. “This is all like what we want to see.”
What kind of monkeys are they?
The monkeys that escaped are rhesus macaque primates, which have brown fur with red faces and ears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces.
The rhesus macaques are Asian, Old World monkeys that are primarily found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia and China.
Md Rafayat Haque Khan/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Rhesus macaques were imported to the U.S. in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories, according to the New England Primate Conservancy.
Rhesus macaques are “bold, extremely curious, and adventurous monkeys” and the species is “highly adaptable to coexisting alongside humans,” the conservancy says.
The rhesus macaque’s typical diet includes roots, fruit, seeds, and bark as well as insects and small animals.
What were they using the monkeys to test?
According to its website, Alpha Gensis breeds monkeys and provides “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services” across the globe. The company’s clinical trials reportedly include research on progressive brain disorders.
Local authorities said Thursday that the escaped primates were “very young females weighing approximately 6-7 lbs” and had never been used for testing due to their age.
Alpha Genesis says its staff of veterinary technicians and animal specialists work with cynomolgous, rhesus and capuchin monkeys.
The Post and Courier newspaper reported last year that Alpha Genesis won a federal contract to oversee a colony of 3,500 rhesus monkeys on South Carolina’s Morgan Island, known as “Monkey Island.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in a statement that the monkeys were previously living on Morgan Island as “free-range monkeys” and were brought to the Alpha Genesis facility “for conditioning to be around people.”
The facility is registered with the CDC as a nonhuman primates importer, which means it “must meet standards for the importation, quarantine, and use of NHPs,” the agency said.
The CDC added that “the risk to the public is low as long as people do not approach or come in contact” with the monkeys.
How often do research monkeys escape?
This is not the first time primates have escaped from Alpha Genesis.
Eight years ago, 19 primates escaped from the company’s facility but were recaptured about six hours later.
CBS affiliate WCSC in Charleston at the time reported that local officials said the escapes were not infrequent but generally the monkeys return to the compound because they know that is where there is food.
“Every couple of years we’ll have one or two that get out. We have never had this many get out,” Westergaard told CBS News on Friday.
Last year in Pennsylvania, dozens of lab monkeys escaped after a truck carrying 100 of the animals crashed. All the primates were later accounted for.