Elisabeth Mahase , 2025-09-11 15:01:00
More needs to be done to crack down on the black market for weight loss jabs, experts, warn, where patients are ordering counterfeit versions of drugs that are still in clinical trials.
Speaking to the London Assembly’s health committee on 10 September, doctors, pharmacists, and online providers suggested that poor access to the drugs on the NHS—as uncovered in The BMJ’s recent investigation1—and the recent Mounjaro price hike were pushing patients to seek the jabs through the black market.2
Sokratis Papafloratos, founder of Numan, an online provider of weight loss drugs, said, “ In terms of illicit access, I think we really underestimate the problem and misunderstand it.
“The other day I was sent a link to the Chinese website where you can buy retatrutide, a drug that is in development by …