European and French health authorities have warned pharmacists of the spread of counterfeit injections bearing the name “Ozempik,” a treatment for diabetes that is also used for weight loss.
“As a precautionary measure, we call on the various actors in the supply chain to exercise caution,” the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) wrote in a memo to pharmacists and hospitals, reports Al-Rai daily.
“No report has yet been registered in this regard in France,” but “it is important to verify the possibility of tracking the serial number” during distribution, said the agency.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that “some wholesalers in the European Union and the United Kingdom have found injections falsely bearing the name Ozempic, a medicine used to treat type 2 diabetes.”
A number of these counterfeit syringes, labeled as being manufactured in Germany, were spotted by distributors in Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom, according to the European Medicines Agency, which explained that there are “differences in appearance between the fake and original syringes.”
The counterfeit Ozempik syringes showed inactive serial numbers when they were passed through the scanner.
The European Medicines Agency indicated that the drug regulatory authorities in the European Union and the police had opened an investigation into what happened.
She continued, “There are no indications yet that counterfeit injections were sold to patients in pharmacies.” (AFP)