Washington, D.C. — In a letter today to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D., a bipartisan group of House Energy and Commerce Committee Leaders requested a briefing about the presence of counterfeit Ozempic and other semaglutide products in the United States’ medical supply chain. 

The letter was signed by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ); Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Ranking Member Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA); and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL).  

KEY LETTER QUOTE:

“In addition to concerns about integrity gaps in the legitimate supply chain, we are also concerned about counterfeit Ozempic entering through illegal channels. For example, in June of this year, Eli Lilly issued an open letter expressing concern that counterfeit versions of its own drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, were being sold online, through social media and at medical spas. On May 1, 2024, a Department of Justice press release reported that work by FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations resulted in the arrest of an individual for selling misbranded and adulterated weight loss drugs on TikTok. The Committee fully supports these continued investigations of unlawful sales.”  

BACKGROUND:  

• The FDA alerted the public on December 21, 2023, to the presence of counterfeit Ozempic injection products in the legitimate drug supply; an investigative article later found that thousands of counterfeit Ozempic pens had arrived in a warehouse in Elmira, New York, as early as the fall of 2023.
• The fact that counterfeit medications made it into the legitimate medical supply chain raises concern about potential gaps in our supply chain security infrastructure.   
• This threat continues to grow.  

CLICK HERE to read the full letter.