Philippines warns against online weight-loss drugs

Novo Nordisk Philippines used a media event in Cebu City on Friday to warn consumers against buying weight-loss drugs online or from unauthorized sellers, as demand for obesity treatments expands in the country. Wei Sun, the company’s general manager in the Philippines, said people were increasingly self-medicating with GLP-1 drugs obtained outside normal prescribing channels. Philippine regulators and medical groups have issued related warnings this year about unregistered, counterfeit and improperly supervised weight-loss products sold online. At the same time, drugmakers including Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are pushing deeper into a fast-growing obesity-drug market. ### Why did the warning come from Cebu City? Cebu City was the setting for a Friday media engagement where Novo Nordisk Philippines discussed obesity treatment and the risks tied to unsupervised use of GLP-1 drugs, according to The Manila Times. Sun said the company was seeing people obtain medicines from sources that were “not exactly from the prescription from the doctors,” and said Novo Nordisk strongly advised against that practice. (manilatimes.net) MyTV, which also reported on the event, said the discussion coincided with Novo Nordisk Philippines’ “Live Lighter” campaign launch and the introduction of Wegovy in the market. The report said Novo Nordisk had partnered with Rose Pharmacy to widen access to obesity care in Cebu and the Visayas. ### What are Philippine officials and doctors warning about? (manilatimes.net) The Philippine College of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism warned in March against buying weight-loss medicines such as Ozempic from online sources, saying the drugs should be used only under physician supervision because of possible health risks and the spread of unverified products. Dr. Sheila Jamias, the group’s vice president, said misuse could expose patients to side effects and inappropriate treatment. (mytv.ph) The Philippine Food and Drug Administration has also stepped up enforcement against online sales of violative health products. The agency said it met Lazada and Shopee representatives on April 15, 2026 to discuss the continued presence of violative health products on online platforms. In a separate notice, the FDA said it worked with the National Bureau of Investigation’s cybercrime division in a March 26 operation in Valenzuela City after reports of unregistered health products being sold online. (pna.gov.ph) ### What specific products have drawn recent scrutiny? The Philippine FDA said in Advisory No. 2026-0037 that EASYSLIM10 Weight Loss Supplement Capsules were unregistered and had been identified through online monitoring or post-marketing surveillance. The agency told healthcare professionals and the public not to purchase or consume the product because no certificate of product registration had been issued. (fda.gov.ph) GMA News reported on May 17 that the FDA and the NBI also warned the public against fake tirzepatide, marketed as “tirze,” being sold as a weight-loss drug. FDA spokesperson Khay Magundayao said the agency was warning the public about peptides and tirzepatide products allegedly being used for weight loss. (fda.gov.ph) ### How does this fit into the wider obesity-drug market? Novo Nordisk’s warning comes as branded GLP-1 drugs gain broader visibility and demand in more markets, including the Philippines. Wegovy is Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide-based obesity treatment, while Ozempic is approved for diabetes but has also been sought by some consumers for weight loss, a pattern that has prompted repeated warnings about off-label and unsupervised use. (gmanetwork.com) Eli Lilly is developing retatrutide, an investigational triple-agonist obesity drug that remains in Phase 3 testing. Lilly said in December 2025 that retatrutide met the primary endpoint in the TRIUMPH-4 trial in adults with obesity or overweight and knee osteoarthritis, and ClinicalTrials.gov lists additional studies in the TRIUMPH program, including TRIUMPH-3, as active. (mytv.ph) ### What should consumers watch next? April 15, 2026 was the date of the Philippine FDA’s meeting with Lazada and Shopee on online sales of violative health products, and the agency has said it is strengthening platform coordination and public reporting channels. Lilly’s retatrutide program also remains in late-stage development, with future trial readouts and regulatory filings still ahead before any approval decision. (fda.gov.ph) (investor.lilly.com)