In this article, not far from the majestic Rocky Mountains lies an ordinary suburban neighborhood with a tree-lined street and a modest light gray home. It’s an unlikely place for an investigation into black market Ozempic, but a CNBC investigation uncovered an international illegal marketplace where criminals alter drugs or ship the real product from overseas, known as drug diversion and against federal law.
The operations involve phony or illegal versions of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic and its obesity drug Wegovy, as well as Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound. These drugs belong to the class of popular weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s. The high demand for these treatments has led to criminal schemes trying to profit from the surge.
CNBC purchased a drug marketed as Ozempic from a company called Laver Beauty, which listed its address on a quiet residential street in Boulder. The drug cost $219 for a month’s supply, a fraction of the U.S. list price of $968. The owners of the home in Boulder claim no connection to the company, although they received mail and a tax form addressed to Laver Beauty.
The drug purchased by CNBC was shipped from an office building in Shijiazhuang, China, to New Jersey. The package arrived in a plain cardboard box with no refrigeration, contrary to the required storage conditions for Ozempic. The drug packaging displayed Chinese writing and the Novo Nordisk logo.
Novo Nordisk stated that the drug seemed to be diverted legitimate product intended for the Chinese market, unauthorized for the U.S. market. The company highlighted concerns about sterility, posing an increased risk of infection for patients using the counterfeit product.
Law enforcement sources mentioned that the Ozempic received from China is part of a broader federal investigation into Ozempic packages being shipped to the U.S. Laver Beauty did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment, but a company representative claimed that their products are genuine and intended for the Chinese market.
Counterfeit weight loss drugs pose serious health risks, according to pharmaceutical companies and federal officials. Eli Lilly is actively combating counterfeits, with their chief scientific officer showcasing a sophisticated fake labeled as Mounjaro but containing a different medication. Counterfeiters are already selling a weight loss drug, retatrutide, online before its market release.
Counterfeit and diverted Ozempic and other obesity drugs are commonly found at the international mail facility at JFK Airport. U.S. Customs has made numerous seizures of medication labeled as Ozempic and other drugs, with interceptions expected to double this year. The seized items are typically sent back to the foreign supplier unless part of an active FDA investigation.
The pharmaceutical industry collaborates with cybersecurity companies like BrandShield to combat sellers of counterfeit drugs. BrandShield identified and shut down numerous sites selling bogus weight loss products, indicating a significant increase in such sites in recent years.
Counterfeit Ozempic has been reported in 15 countries, prompting a global alert from the World Health Organization. The U.S. government faces challenges with diverted medicines coming from various countries, with Turkey emerging as a hotspot for pharmaceutical crime. Raids in Istanbul have targeted counterfeit drug operations, reflecting a broader international crackdown on counterfeit drugs.
The risks associated with purchasing counterfeit drugs are substantial due to the delicate nature of drug formulations and specific shipping requirements. Reports of issues with weight loss drugs containing semaglutide or tirzepatide have increased, emphasizing the importance of patient safety in combating counterfeit drugs.
