The number of fake weight loss jabs seized by the UK’s medicines regulator soared in 2025, new data has revealed.
Figures obtained by online pharmacy Quick Meds found that more than 6,500 “counterfeit or unlicensed pens” were seized by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) between 2023 and last year.
Of the 6,526 weight loss jabs seized over this period, a staggering 5,851 were confiscated in 2025 alone, compared to 407 in 2023.
Read more: ‘Risky dosing hacks’ increase as weight loss jab prices rise
Quick Meds said “significant quantities” of these were found “through inland investigations rather than at UK borders”, which highlights “the severe scale of domestic distribution of counterfeit products”.
The products claimed to contain the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs semaglutide, tirzepatide and retatrutide, it added.
Rise of retatrutide
More than 4,000 of the jabs seized in 2025 claimed to contain retatrutide - an experimental weight loss drug that is currently in clinical trials for obesity, and neither licensed nor approved in the UK.
No fake or unlicensed pens claiming to contain retatrutide were seized by the MHRA before last year, the data showed.
Read more: MHRA seized £45m in illegally traded drugs in 2025
It comes after new research found that almost half of Brits using weight loss jabs are trying “risky dosing hacks” or “turning to unlicensed drugs and sellers” amid the rising cost of the treatment.
LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor said one in four GLP-1 users have “knowingly resorted to buying from unlicensed sellers”, while one in five are “using drugs that are unlicensed and untested for weight loss in the UK”.
