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Attorney General McCuskey calls for action against counterfeit weight loss drug makers

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey joined a 37-state and territory bipartisan coalition urging the Food and Drug Administration to take swift action against bad actors who are endangering consumers with counterfeit forms of the weight loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, and Wegovy (GLP-1 drugs). 

“Counterfeiters who are taking advantage of consumers and endangering their health and life must be stopped," Attorney General McCuskey said. “We are asking the FDA to beef up their actions against these bad actors who sell unregulated versions of the drug and operate outside the United States." 

According to the letter, “online retailers are illegally selling the active ingredients of GLP-1 drugs directly to consumers, without a prescription. These retailers claim that the active ingredients they sell are 'for research purposes only' or 'not for human consumption.' In reality, these companies advertise directly to consumers on social media, claiming their products are an easier and more affordable way to obtain GLP-1 drugs. These active ingredients come from unregulated, undisclosed sources and pose risks of contamination and inclusion of foreign substances. 

According to the coalition, the FDA has the expertise and resources to stop the bad conduct and deceptive practices by counterfeit drug manufacturers. The coalition urges the FDA to increase enforcement actions against compounding pharmacies illegally participating in this market. The coalition also encouraged the FDA to partner with state pharmacy boards to ensure compounded GLP-1 drugs are produced safely and in sanitary environments.  

Attorney General McCuskey joined the South Carolina-, Colorado-, Illinois- and Tennessee-led letter with Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia and Wisconsin.​ 

You can read the full letter here. ​