Fake Mounjaro and Unapproved Retatrutide Fuel India's Weight-Loss Drug Black Market
Counterfeit Mounjaro and unapproved retatrutide are circulating in India as demand for weight-loss drugs grows.
India's expanding weight-loss drug market is being exploited by a growing trade in counterfeit and unauthorised medicines, with fake versions of Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and the unapproved obesity drug retatrutide surfacing in the country.
Gurugram raid exposes counterfeit operation
The trail began when Amandeep Chauhan, a drug control officer in Haryana, spotted Mounjaro advertised on IndiaMART at roughly 20% below its usual retail price of ₹13,125 for a month's treatment.
Chauhan arranged to meet a seller in Gurugram. Investigators found three cartons of Mounjaro pens in a Maruti Suzuki sedan before tracing the operation to a rented two-bedroom apartment. Inside, they recovered injector pens, syringes, labels and packaging bearing Eli Lilly branding, along with a refrigerator holding vials of peptides.
Businessman Avi Sharma was arrested in April. Testing by Eli Lilly confirmed the seized products were counterfeit, with several doses containing 30% or less of the labelled concentration of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro.
Why the market is vulnerable
Expensive branded obesity medicines have created demand for cheaper alternatives, and patients can locate sellers through Telegram, WhatsApp, online marketplaces and other informal channels. India's large pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem also gives counterfeiters access to ingredients and packaging supplies. Regulators have previously identified falsified medicines linked to Indian supply chains.
Generic semaglutide adds to the mix
Following the expiry of Novo Nordisk's patent on the active ingredient, nearly three dozen generic semaglutide brands have entered the Indian market, including tablets, vials and injectables. Mounjaro, by contrast, remains patent-protected in India.
Experimental drug on offer
Investigators also recovered retatrutide during the Gurugram raid. The medicine has not been approved for sale by any regulator and remains under clinical development. People familiar with the matter said unofficial distributors had approached doctors, wellness centres and beauty clinics in Mumbai offering to supply it, while listings have appeared on IndiaMART and TradeIndia.
Eli Lilly said retatrutide is an investigational medicine available only in its clinical trials and has not been approved by any regulator anywhere in the world, adding that no one can legally sell it for human use.
Spotting a fake
Counterfeit Mounjaro can be hard to identify, but some warning signs help. Packaging may show blurry printing, spelling mistakes, unusual fonts, incorrect colours or poorly placed labels. Genuine pens should contain a clear, colourless liquid; damaged, cloudy or poorly made pens should be avoided. Some batch numbers have been flagged by authorities, though a batch number alone cannot confirm authenticity. Unusually low prices are a red flag, and injections should not be bought through unknown WhatsApp, Telegram or social-media sellers. Buyers should use a prescription and a registered pharmacy, and contact the pharmacy, Eli Lilly or the relevant drug regulator if a pen is suspected to be fake or tampered with.