A 32-year-old woman, Maddy, ended up in A&E vomiting blood after purchasing an unlicensed weight loss drug on Instagram. The drug, an unlicensed version of semaglutide, was sold to her by a company called The Lip King, run by Jordan Parke, without any prescription or medical checks.
Maddy paid £200 for 10mg of semaglutide, which arrived by post in the form of a white powder and liquid that needed to be mixed. She received a WhatsApp video from Parke instructing her on how to inject the drug, including advice to take a higher dose than recommended by health officials.
After her first injection, Maddy became extremely ill with vomiting. Parke told her this was normal and advised anti-sickness tablets. When she tried the drug again weeks later, she vomited blood and stomach acid, prompting a visit to A&E where she was put on a drip. 'I thought I was dying,' she said.
A BBC investigation found unregulated sellers offering semaglutide online and in beauty salons in Manchester and Liverpool. Lab tests on products from several sellers showed inconsistencies: some vials contained no semaglutide at all, and nearly all had less than the advertised dose.
Under UK law, it is illegal to sell semaglutide as a medicine without a prescription. The drug's manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, says it is working to remove counterfeit sellers online. Doctors warn that drugs from unregulated sources may contain toxic ingredients.
