Fake Ozempic in pharmacies. Important GIF message
The Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector (GIF) decided to withdraw specific batches of the drug Ozempic used for diabetes from the market. Reason? False medicines entered the legal market. GIF writes about a real threat to health and life.
Ozempic is a drug used in diabetics, but has recently gained popularity as a weight loss drug (hence frequent shortages of the drug in pharmacies in many countries). Criminals counterfeiting medicines also benefit from the popularity of Ozempic. Now, counterfeit Ozempic has been detected in Germany, Great Britain, and also in Poland. Hence the GIF’s decision, which was immediately enforceable.
Ozempic – withdrawn drug
The GIF’s decision concerns both the withdrawal of the drug, which is already on the Polish market, and the ban on introducing specific series of Ozempic to the market. GIF provided details in its announcement. The product being withdrawn from the market is:
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Ozempic 1mg solution for injection in pre-filled pen; 3 3 ml pens + 12 needles
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series number: MP5E511,
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validity date: 07/2025 for packaging with serial number (SN): 1946483405690
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responsible entity: Novo Nordisk A/S based in Denmark;
The series banned from being placed on the market are:
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Ozempic 1mg solution for injection in pre-filled pen; 3 3 ml pens + 12 needles
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batch number: MP5E511, expiry date: 07/2025 for packaging with serial number (SN): 1946483405690
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batch number: NP5G866, expiration date: 12/2025 for packaging with serial number (SN): 1946483405690
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batch number: NP5G866, expiration date: 12/2025 for packaging with serial number (SN): 1031002838555
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responsible entity: Novo Nordisk A/S based in Denmark;
Fake Ozempic – GIF message
As stated in the announcement, the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector received two pieces of information about the falsification of the Ozempic medicinal product. Drug packaging identified as counterfeit was discovered in the legal supply chain in the UK and Germany. It also turned out that one of the batches of the drug is already on the Polish market, hence the immediate decision to withdraw it from pharmacies.
As stated in the justification for the decision, “leaving on the market a medicinal product that has been confirmed to be falsified constitutes (…) direct and real threats to the health, and potentially also to the life, of patients who could use this drug. There is no confirmation as to the actual composition of the falsified medicinal product and, consequently, as to its impact on its pharmacological, immunological or metabolic effects. It is therefore impossible to predict what effect it will have on the patient.”
