Urgent Ozempic and Wegovy warning as '10 deaths linked to weight-loss jabs'

The UK’s drug’s watchdog has warned people over the use of counterfeit medications which could contain insulin - with many using the drug for "aesthetic reasons".

A drug’s watchdog has laid bare 10 deaths that are claimed to be linked to the use of weight loss injections. Other side effects include 7,228 reports of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea linked to the use of weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Ozempic.

Out of the patients who reported the above side effects, 68 were admitted to hospital, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They explained that a reported death doesn’t mean that the death was definitely caused by the medicine, known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), but that someone believes it may have been.

In addition to the fact that, it can’t be ruled out that "underlying or concurrent illnesses and other medicines" could have played a part in the deaths, as well as that "such events can also be coincidental", MHRA told Chemist and Druggist magazine.

Last week, the NHRA asked healthcare professionals to be alert for cases of misuse and to report any concerns that they have, in addition to making sure to 'inform patients about the common and serious side effects associated with GLP-1RAs'.

The MHRA alert also warned healthcare professionals to be aware there have been reports of potential misuse of GLP-1RAs for unauthorised indications such as aesthetic weight loss'. The drugs regulator said that healthcare professionals should be alert for signs of misuse of these medicines in their patients, warn these patients that they are at risk of side effects and report any adverse reactions'.

They also explained that patients needed to be warned about the risk associated with counterfeit GLP-1RA medications being used for weight loss, and should be aware that falsified medicines have been found to have insulin in them.