Experts issue warning against 'illegal' weight loss drug as more people inject themselves with it

Experts have warned people against using a weight loss drug that hasn’t yet come on the market.

Weight loss drugs have become a lot more popular in recent years and people across the world seem to have sworn by them.

In America, 12 percent of adults have reported taking some form of weight loss medication, which equates to around 15 to 20 million people.

Much of the popularity stems from the fact that in many cases, people don’t need to live their lives too differently because of how the drugs work.

Many of the medications mimic the natural hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is released in the gut after eating.

This aids the regulation of blood sugar, keeps people feeling fuller for longer and therefore sees them shed the pounds.

Weight loss drugs are estimated to be used by 12 percent of Americans (Getty Stock Image)

The FDA has approved six drugs for weight management purposes, including semaglutide (Wegovy) and Liraglutide (Saxenda), however some people have opted to use medications incorrectly that can have a similar effect to those approved.

In addition to this, another concerning trend has emerged; that people are using ‘illegal’ weight loss drugs that have not yet come to market.

One of these is retatrutide, a weight loss drug being produced by Eli Lilly and currently in the clinical trials stage.

However, according to Wired, some people have still managed to get their hands on the drug and have praised it, despite the potential unknown side effects.

Eli Lilly spokesperson Niki Biro has warned against consuming drugs in this way.

Speaking to Futurism, they said: “Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that is legally available only to participants in Lilly’s clinical trials. Anyone purporting to sell retatrutide for human use is breaking the law, and no one should consider taking anything claiming to be retatrutide outside of a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial.”

Some people have been using retatrutide, despite it not being on market yet (Getty Stock Image)

Dr Helen Wall has also previously spoken of why consuming medication after buying it from ‘grey markets’ is dangerous. On much of the packaging, the drugs may say for ‘research purposes’ or ‘not for human consumption’ despite people continuing to use them.

Dr Wall told Metro: “The issue is, we don’t really know what the risks are and we don’t know the dosing either. It’s certainly not just a stronger version of Ozempic and Mounjaro. It’s working on a different pathway, so that needs exploration in terms of, what the safety is, what the risks are and what the side effects are.

“It’s been developed by Eli Lilly, who are a reputable, well known pharmaceutical company, so ultimately, it may well end up on the market, but at the moment it’s still in clinical trials.”

A spokesperson for Eli Lilly told UNILAD: “Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that Lilly is studying for the treatment of obesity – it is in phase 3 clinical trials and is not available to patients outside of these trials. Retatrutide has not been reviewed or approved by any regulatory agency anywhere in the world, and therefore at this time no one can sell retatrutide for human use.

“Any product falsely representing itself as a Lilly investigational product not yet approved by regulators may expose patients to potentially serious health risks.”