Fake versions of ‘game-changer’ slimming jabs have been discovered in the UK, US and Brazil, global health chiefs have warned.
The once-a-week jab, made by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, is offered on the NHS to help type 2 diabetes patients control their blood sugar levels.
Semaglutide — the generic name for Ozempic — also triggers weight loss, earning it praise as a ‘miracle’ weight loss injection.
But World Health Organization (WHO) bosses have announced three counterfeit batches falsely claiming to be manufactured by Novo Nordisk have entered the market.
The UN agency detected the fake injectable pens, which could prove ‘life threatening’, in Brazil and the UK last October, and the US in December.
Semaglutide has been shown to help users lose up to 33lbs (15.3kg) on average over 68 weeks. The treatments trick the brain into thinking it’s full, consequently slashing appetite and stopping users from overeating. Huge global demand, however, has seen counterfeit versions flood the market. Health officials have already seized more than 600 potentially fake Ozempic pens across the UK since the start of 2023
Lynsay McAvoy, from Edinburgh, purchased the jabs on the internet in the hope of shedding belly fat — despite weighing just 8st (51kg)
Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO’s assistant director-general for essential medicines and health products, said: ‘WHO advises healthcare professionals, regulatory authorities and the public be aware of these falsified batches of medicines.
‘We call on stakeholders to stop any usage of suspicious medicines and report to relevant authorities.’
Some fake injections may not contain semaglutide at all or others may contain other medications, such as insulin, leading to ‘unpredictable’ effects, the WHO said.
Anyone concerned they may own a counterfeit product should not use it and instead seek urgent medical advice, it added.
Healthcare authorities should also quarantine suspected fake products and retain the product for testing.
Michelle Sword, 45, pictured with her two children Cadie (right), 13, and Coen (left), 18 who watched on in horror as their mother collapsed
Single mother Ms Sword nearly died in front of her children after injecting herself with a ‘counterfeit skinny jab’ she purchased off the internet.
Branded as Ozempic, semaglutide has been available on the NHS since 2019 for type 2 diabetics to manage blood sugar levels.
For these patients, a 0.25mg dose is taken once a week for four weeks, which can be upped to 0.5mg and 1mg, if needed.
Semaglutide was approved for weight loss in 2022 under the brand Wegovy.
The treatments — which have been shown to help users lose up to 33lbs (15.3kg) on average over 68 weeks — trick the brain into thinking it’s full, consequently slashing appetite and stopping users from overeating.
Doses start at 0.25mg and go up to 2.4mg. On the NHS, it is available to obese patients with a weight-related health condition.
However, either drug can be accessed privately for weight loss through off label prescribing. This is a system where medics can dish out a drug approved in the UK but for a different purpose than why it was approved.
Huge global demand, however, has seen counterfeit versions flood the market.
Reports of fake slimming jabs in the UK first emerged in the media last August.
UK health officials have already seized more than 600 potentially fake Ozempic pens across the nation since the start of 2023.
In a bid to shed a few pounds before a family wedding, Shannon Flannery, of Medway in Kent, found semaglutide injections being flogged online. The seller marketed the injections as ‘celebs’ best kept secret’. Semaglutide is the powerful chemical in Ozempic and Wegovy, the game-changing weight loss jabs ushering in a new era in the war on obesity
The 27-year-old, who weighed 13st (82.6kg), paid £120 for ten-weeks worth of jabs in February. DIY kits arrived by post with instructions on how to mix the ingredients herself
Ms Flannery vomited and retched for four days after taking the second jab a week later, however. After spotting blood in her urine she rushed to Medway Maritime Hospital, where she claims medics told her one more ‘skinny jab’ could have been ‘fatal’
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned patients were suffering from seizures and even being left in comas after injecting themselves with fake versions being sold at cut price online.
The watchdog also said many won’t even contain semaglutide. Fake versions are often just insulin pens which have been repackaged to look like the real thing, fooling customers.
But when patients inject themselves, the insulin surge causes a rapid drop in blood sugar — which can be fatal.
Earlier this year a mother-of-three told how she nearly died after injecting herself with a ‘skinny jab’ she bought online.
Lynsay McAvoy, from Edinburgh, purchased the jabs on the internet in the hope of shedding belly fat — despite weighing just 8st (51kg).
After shedding around 7lbs (3kg) in just a few weeks, the mother-of-three ordered another batch of the injections.
However, the 42-year-old beautician then suffered a severe allergic reaction, which saw her tongue swell up and her eyes burn, causing her to pass out.
After being rushed to hospital, medics informed her that she had suffered a severe allergic reaction to the injections, which can trigger organ failure in severe cases.
She said she feels ‘ashamed’ and warned that despite seeming like a ‘quick fix’, the pens are ‘dangerous’.
She said the injections appeared exactly the same as the first lot she purchased and she jabbed herself in the stomach before setting off for work.
However, within seconds, she her tongue had become swollen, her skin felt itchy and her eyes ‘began to burn’ to the point that she struggled to open them.
In April, a mother also told how she was ‘lucky to be alive’ after a ‘skinny jab’ she bought on Instagram left her urinating blood and vomiting.
In a bid to shed a few pounds before a family wedding, Shannon Flannery, of Medway in Kent, found semaglutide injections being flogged online.
The 27-year-old, who weighed 13st (82.6kg), paid £120 for ten-weeks worth of jabs in February.
DIY kits arrived by post with instructions on how to mix the ingredients herself.
After administering the first injection directly into her stomach, the mother-of-two immediately felt nauseous. But her symptoms subsided quickly.
Ms Flannery vomited and retched for four days after taking the second jab a week later, however.
After spotting blood in her urine she rushed to hospital, where she claims medics told her one more ‘skinny jab’ could have been ‘fatal’.
Game-changing injections such as Ozempic have been hailed by the likes of Elon Musk and Jeremy Clarkson.
Ministers plan to dole the drug to millions of overweight Brits to trim the country’s bulging benefits bill. Children could eventually be given the jabs, too.
Wegovy and Ozempic work by triggering the body to produce a hormone called GLP-1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals
Ozempic is available on the NHS as a treatment for managing blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. In May, it was also approved for weight loss under the brand name Wegovy and launched in September on the NHS for weight loss for patients who are overweight or obese with weight-related health problems
Like any medication, semaglutide can have known side effects that vary in both frequency and severity, including nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, fatigue, stomach pain, headaches and dizziness.
Some patients have also suffered hair loss while on them.
Latest NHS data shows 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and a further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese.
Experts have pointed to a lack of exercise, and poor diets high in ultra-processed food, as being key drivers in the UK’s obesity epidemic.
