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Regulators stepping in to stop rise of fake diet drugs from flooding the market

Published: 23 Feb. 2026, 12:39 Updated: 23 Feb. 2026, 17:17

A pharmacist displays a box of Mounjaro in Provo, Utah, on March 29, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Counterfeit diet products that imitate the names and packaging of obesity drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy are spreading online. As a result, regulators have stepped up enforcement as consumer confusion about which products are genuine continues to grow.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recently imposed administrative sanctions on a company that sold a fake diet product using a name mimicking Mounjaro for violating the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, industry sources said on Sunday.

The company had packaged the fake product under a name similar to the well-known Mounjaro in a white bottle resembling a medicine container, using phrases such as “for oral use” and “formulated with verified ingredients” in its advertisements.

Regulators determined that the company's marketing could lead consumers to mistake the product for the pharmaceutical drug Mounjaro. The logo and font color on the packaging also closely resembled those of Mounjaro.

Despite repeated crackdowns, similar products remain easy to find online. Items marketed under names mimicking the well-known Wegovy continue to claim they help with weight control.

Boxes of Ozempic and Wegovy made by Novo Nordisk are seen at a pharmacy in London on March 8, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

On social media, users post testimonials claiming they lost 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) in a month after taking such products, though those claims remain unverified.

Some sellers have gone further by impersonating global pharmaceutical companies.

Earlier this month, Lilly Korea, the Korean affiliate of Eli Lilly and Company, warned that third parties had used the company’s name and logo “without authorization to promote diet products and seek money from consumers.”

“We have not approved such illegal distribution activities and ask that any damage be reported to the relevant authorities,” Lilly Korea said in a notice.

Authorities urge consumers to examine online advertisements and reviews carefully before purchasing diet-related foods promoted on social media.

In August last year, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety referred the heads of five companies to prosecutors for allegedly violating the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods. The companies sold 32.4 billion won ($22.4 million) worth of ordinary food products through false and exaggerated advertisements describing them as “edible Wegovy” or “appetite suppressants.”

The problem has also surfaced overseas.

A combined image shows an injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly's weight loss drug, left, and a box of Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

In September last year, the European Medicines Agency found hundreds of fake Facebook accounts selling illegal medicines across Europe that claimed to contain GLP-1, a hormone that helps control blood sugar and reduce appetite.

“Most foods advertised as being related to GLP-1 and similar to obesity treatments lack scientific evidence and proper verification,” said Shim Kyung-won, a professor of family medicine at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. “They are nothing like Wegovy or Mounjaro, which have gone through clinical trials.

“It is risky to purchase such products based solely on online reviews. Effective weight loss requires proper medical prescriptions along with diet control and exercise.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY IM SOUNG-BIN, KWAK JOO-YOUNG [[email protected]]