Over 40% of online pharmacies advertising semaglutide operated illegally in 2023

The data: Over 40% of online pharmacies that advertised and offered “semaglutide” (marketed by Novo Nordisk as Ozempic and Wegovy) in 2023 were operating illegally, according to Trilliant Health’s 2024 Trends Shaping the Health Economy Report.

The GLP-1 illegal online market: GLP-1 drug shortages coupled with their sky-high costs spearheaded an illegal market of unapproved and potentially dangerous medications.

• Only Novo Nordisk sells the FDA-approved version of semaglutide.
• Counterfeit concerns were one of healthcare executives’ top predictions for how the GLP-1 market will play out in 2024, according to a Venrock survey from earlier this year.

Trilliant found that 57.7% of online pharmacies that offered semaglutide last year have legal status, meaning the rest are illegitimate.

The report provided some examples of select illegal pharmacies that were selling semaglutide for prices that seemed implausible (the list prices for Ozempic and Wegovy before insurance or discounts are upwards of $1,000 per month or higher).

• A company called genius-pharmacy.com was selling semaglutide for $360. A Google search shows that this illegal pharmacy has since shut down or rebranded.