Three people sought medical treatment in the United States last year with dangerously low blood sugar levels after taking suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes medicine Ozempic, the US Poison Centers told Reuters.
One person also suffered hypoglycemia in 2023 after injecting a compounded version of Ozempic, said the organization, which represents 55 poison centers around the country and works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to identify public health risks.
Ozempic and similar diabetes medications are increasingly being used off-label (when the medication is developed for one purpose but used for another) for weight loss. Explosive demand for Ozempic and other approved weight-loss drugs, including Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy, has fueled a growing global market for counterfeit versions.
Health authorities in Austria and Lebanon reported last year that several people suffered bouts of hypoglycemia after taking allegedly fake doses of Ozempic. Some of them were admitted to the hospital.
The US Poison Centers said the three US cases of allegedly false Ozempic were reported by the same regional control center, and that the Food and Drug Administration was investigating, without elaborating.
Novo Nordisk said it does not have information about the details of these cases because they were reported directly to poison control centers.