A woman who bought an unlicensed weight loss drug on social media ended up in A&E vomiting blood, a BBC investigation has found. Maddy, 32, purchased an unlicensed version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, from an Instagram seller known as The Lip King.
The BBC discovered unregulated sellers offering semaglutide as a medicine without a prescription online, as well as in beauty salons in Manchester and Liverpool. Doctors warn that drugs from unregulated sources are dangerous and may contain toxic ingredients.
Demand for Ozempic, a prescribed type 2 diabetes medication, surged after it was dubbed Hollywood's secret weight loss drug. This led to off-label prescriptions for weight loss, global supply issues, and a shortage for diabetes patients in the UK. An illicit black market selling semaglutide 'diet kits' subsequently flourished online.
Maddy paid £200 for 10mg of semaglutide after a brief message exchange with Jordan Parke, who runs The Lip King. She received a video instructing her how to mix and inject the drug, along with dangerous guidance to take a higher dose than recommended. After her first injection, she became extremely ill, and later vomited blood, requiring hospital treatment.
Laboratory tests on unlicensed semaglutide purchased by the BBC revealed inconsistencies: some vials contained no semaglutide, and nearly all, including the one from The Lip King, did not contain the full dose paid for. Under UK law, it is illegal to sell semaglutide as a medicine without a prescription.
Drugs manufacturer Novo Nordisk, the only company approved to sell semaglutide in the UK, says it is working to remove websites and social media accounts selling counterfeit products and investigating criminal networks.
