Brasília – As the demand for GLP-1 therapies continues to soar, authorities and specialists warn of a parallel rise in the illegal trade of weight-loss drugs, including falsified, smuggled, and industrially manipulated versions sold online and in clinics. The expansion of this black market is driven by the high cost of approved treatments and insufficient regulatory enforcement, creating serious risks to patient safety. The article was published by Estadão as part of the Estadão Summit Saúde, in a feature sponsored by Eli Lilly.

Experts identified three main categories of concern: contraband imports, counterfeit products that imitate branded medicines without authorization, and large-scale unregulated compounding carried out outside official pharmaceutical channels. Authorities have already seized 28 kg of tirzepatide imported illegally — enough to fill nearly 5.8 million injection pens. Specialists warned that, unlike registered drugs, these products lack clinical validation, manufacturing control, and post-market surveillance, posing significant health risks and undermining Brazil’s public-health policies.

Source: Estadão

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