In this photograph illustration, containers of the diabetes drug Ozempic relaxation on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk on Tuesday sued 5 medical spas and wellness clinics for allegedly selling cheaper, unauthorized versions of the corporate’s weight reduction medication Ozempic and Wegovy.
The Danish drugmaker initiated the lawsuits in federal courts in New York, Texas, Florida and Tennessee, based on complaints obtained by CNBC.
The fits accused the spas and clinics of advertising and marketing and selling “compounded” drug merchandise that declare to comprise semaglutide, the energetic ingredient in each Ozempic and Wegovy. Compounded medication are custom-made versions of a remedy that aren’t accepted by the Food and Drug Administration.
Novo Nordisk is the only real patent holder of semaglutide and doesn’t promote that ingredient to exterior entities. It’s unclear what the spas and clinics are literally selling to shoppers.
Novo Nordisk requested the courts for orders blocking the gross sales of the unauthorized medication and an unspecified quantity of cash damages.
“These illegal advertising and marketing and gross sales practices, together with the use of Novo Nordisk emblems in reference to these practices, have created a excessive danger of shopper confusion and deception in addition to potential security issues,” the corporate wrote in a press release Tuesday.
The spas and clinics named within the lawsuits embody Pro Health Investments, Champion Health & Wellness Clinics and Flawless Image Medical Aesthetics.
It additionally consists of Effinger Health, which operates as Nuvida Rx Weight Loss, and Ekzotika Corp., which is doing enterprise as Cosmetic Laser Professionals Med Spa. The latter clinic affords a $30 Groupon for a one-week “semaglutide weight administration program.”
The spas and clinics did not instantly reply to CNBC’s requests for remark.
The fits come amid a scarcity of Wegovy and Ozempic, which has led to a growth in compounded alternate options that declare to be the favored injections.
The FDA final month warned in regards to the security dangers of unauthorized versions of Ozempic and Wegovy after studies emerged of opposed well being reactions to compounded versions of the medication.
Several states have additionally threatened to take authorized motion towards compounding pharmacies that make or distribute unapproved variations of Novo Nordisk’s weight reduction therapies.
