'Reta' manufacturers issue warning over weight loss drug as online sellers expose legal loophole
The manufacturer of a new weight-loss jab has issued a warning over the sale of black market drugs.
Retatrutide is an experimental medication that’s being developed by Eli Lilly and Company - the world's largest pharmaceutical company and makers of Mounjaro.
Phased clinical trials have been taking place for both obesity and type 2 diabetes, with some remarkable results.
Often dubbed the 'Godzilla' of weight loss drugs, retatrutide targets three different hormone receptors to dramatically suppress appetite and increase fat burning, while current medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro only target one or two.
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In a major trial involving more than 2,300 overweight adults, people taking the highest dose lost an average of 28.3 percent of their body weight, while some patients lost around 5st.
Professor Ania Jastreboff, lead investigator on the trial at Yale School of Medicine, said: "It was impressive to see that every dose of retatrutide resulted in clinically meaningful weight reduction for nearly all participants, and people with severe obesity on the highest dose lost on average 30 percent of their body weight over two years.”
While the trial seems to be going well, people are turning to black market websites as they seemingly can’t wait to get their hands on it.
Eli Lilly told LADbible that ‘retatrutide is an investigational molecule and has not been reviewed or approved by any regulatory agency in the world’.
“No one should consider taking anything claiming to be retatrutide outside of a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial,” it clarified, reminding that it is against the law to sell a drug that hasn’t been licensed.
“Any unlicensed or prescription-only medicines offered without a prescription, or for sale through social media or unofficial websites, are unlawful,” Eli Lilly added.
“These products are either counterfeit or resold outside the approved supply chain - and both situations pose serious risks to patients’ health.
“When medicines circulate outside authorised channels and the regulated distribution chain, there is no assurance that strict standards for manufacturing, storage, transportation and handling have been met.”
Eli Lilly explained that it ‘puts patients at risk of getting a fake, degraded or contaminated product’. The company said their ‘patients deserve safe, effective and clinically tested medicines, not harmful knockoffs’.
“Globally, Lilly continues to take steps to combat the proliferation of counterfeit and unsafe products, including cooperating with regulators and law enforcement, publishing public warnings, and working to identify and remove fraudulent or unsafe content online and on social media,” it continued.
“Stronger, coordinated enforcement must be sustained if we are to protect patients from unsafe obesity products.”
Retatrutide side effects
In Phase 2 trial data, the most commonly reported adverse effects included:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Constipation
- Decreased appetite
"Retatrutide is not yet available in the UK and has not been approved for use by any regulatory bodies – it is still undergoing clinical trials to assess its safety and effectiveness," Dr Clair Grainger, from Superdrug Online Doctor, said.
Anish Vij