In this photo illustration, boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk filed lawsuits on Tuesday against five medical spas and wellness clinics for allegedly selling unauthorized, cheaper versions of their weight loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy.
The Danish pharmaceutical company initiated the legal actions in federal courts situated in New York, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee, as mentioned in the complaints obtained by CNBC.
The lawsuits accused the spas and clinics of promoting and distributing “compounded” drug products that fraudulently claim to include semaglutide, the active ingredient found in both Ozempic and Wegovy. Compounded drugs refer to custom-made versions of a treatment that lacks approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Novo Nordisk exclusively holds the patent for semaglutide and does not supply that particular ingredient to third parties. The actual nature of the products being sold by the spas and clinics remains unclear.
Novo Nordisk is seeking court orders to halt the sales of the unauthorized drugs and is also demanding unspecified monetary compensation for damages.
“These unlawful marketing and sales practices, along with the unauthorized use of Novo Nordisk trademarks, have created substantial risks of consumer confusion, deception, and potential safety concerns,” stated the company in its press release on Tuesday.
The lawsuits name several spas and clinics, including Pro Health Investments, Champion Health & Wellness Clinics, and Flawless Image Medical Aesthetics.
Effinger Health, operating as Nuvida Rx Weight Loss, and Ekzotika Corp., doing business as Cosmetic Laser Professionals Med Spa, are also listed in the legal actions. The latter clinic offers a one-week “semaglutide weight management program” for $30 via Groupon.
The spas and clinics have not yet responded to CNBC’s requests for comment.
These lawsuits come as a response to the scarcity of Wegovy and Ozempic, resulting in an increase in the availability of compounded alternatives falsely claiming to be the popular injections.
Last month, the FDA issued a warning regarding the safety risks associated with unauthorized versions of Ozempic and Wegovy after reports of adverse health reactions to compounded versions of the drugs surfaced.
Several states have also threatened legal action against compounding pharmacies involved in producing or distributing unapproved variations of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss treatments.
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