A survey by digital healthcare provider Zava has revealed that British patients are increasingly turning to potentially unregulated weight loss drugs as demand surges and global medicine prices climb.
Of the 1,004 participants, 21% did not have a prescription from a healthcare professional for the weight loss drug they were taking, with one in six admitting to buying their doses through e-commerce sites like eBay or Amazon.
Respondents also cited the emerging role of social media as a hub for securing weight loss medications, with 11.75% buying their drugs from platforms like TikTok and Instagram or through influencers.
Concerningly, 22% of the participants also suspect their medication may not be legitimate but opt to risk it anyway – raising questions around the safety of drugs obtained through online marketplaces with little-to-no regulatory oversight.
Zava debuts this data as the illicit weight loss drug trade continues to grow due to ballooning demand, against prior shortages, rising prices and long waits for prescriptions in the UK. Manufacturers of illegal weight loss drugs are also looking to capitalise on the highly lucrative nature of the regulated market, which GlobalData forecasts will be worth $206.5bn in 2031.
Addressing the contraband issue
To crack down on the emerging risks linked to illicit weight loss drugs, US and European regulators have issued warnings around drugs masquerading as the best-selling approved therapies like Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide).
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also taking action to target illegal compounders and illicit online pharmacies, which represent two common channels through which criminals market counterfeit drugs in the US.
UK regulators are also contending with similar issues, as evidenced by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) recently seizing 2,000 illegal weight loss drugs from illicit manufacturing facilities across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
Zava’s UK clinical lead, Crystal Wyllie, theorises that emotional and social pressures are now “outweighing safety concerns” for consumers, which could pose a serious public health risk due to the potential lack of efficacy, safety and suitable cold chain requirements during the transportation process.
In a comment piece for Pharmaceutical Technology, Timothy Mackey, CEO of medical waste disposal expert PureWay, noted that used autoinjectors are increasingly being tampered with and resold in black or grey markets – highlighting the necessity of strict oversight across the entire product lifecycle.
