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Fake Weight Loss Drug Tears Esophagus
14 Sep
Summary
- Patient hospitalized after consuming counterfeit weight loss drug.
- Counterfeit drug contained eight times normal semaglutide levels.
- TGA warns of serious health risks from unapproved online peptides.
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a critical alert following a patient's hospitalization due to a counterfeit weight loss drug. The individual sustained a torn esophagus from severe vomiting after unknowingly consuming a fake version of the experimental peptide drug, retatrutide.
This unapproved drug, promoted online under various names, was found by the TGA to contain semaglutide at concentrations approximately eight times higher than regulated products. The TGA chief medical adviser stressed the unknown contents, sterility, and dosage of such illicit products pose severe health risks, especially for injectable substances.
Previous warnings from the Victorian health department highlighted cases of acute liver toxicity linked to products labeled as retatrutide. Australia's chief medical officer has also previously cautioned about serious adverse effects from non-prescribed peptides, including liver damage and allergic reactions.
