The Medicines Safety Agency is taking legal action against the online sale of anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro.

The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) announced on Thursday, September 11, that it had taken legal action to put an end to the illegal sale and advertising on the Internet of products presented as anti-obesity treatments, which are very popular on social networks. "The sale and promotion of aGLP-1 drugs on the Internet without authorization is illegal. The products sold may be counterfeit and endanger the health of the people who use them," the health agency warned, adding that this illicit trade phenomenon affects the whole of Europe.

These drugs, indicated for the treatment of diabetes or obesity, marketed under the names Ozempic or Wegovy (active ingredient: semaglutide), Saxenda or Victoza (liraglutide), Trulicity (dulaglutide) or Mounjaro (tirzepatide), are sold by prescription. However, in France, only over-the-counter drugs can be sold online, and only by authorized pharmacies. Only 838 French pharmacies are listed as having an online sales activity for prescription-only drugs.

The aGLP-1 drugs are only legally sold in the form of injection pens but circulate online in various forms, including patches. "In order to put an end to these illegal sales activities, the ANSM contacted the public prosecutor in April 2025" and "made around twenty reports against around ten merchant sites" on the Pharos portal of the Ministry of the Interior, which allows illegal content to be reported on the Internet, according to the press release .

The court has been asked "to prosecute sites that carry out online sales activities, in particular for the illegal practice of pharmacy, as well as for the fraudulent use of the ANSM logo," and to punish the dissemination in France of unauthorized advertising to the general public for these drugs, the agency specifies. "At the same time, health police measures aimed at prohibiting advertising and any form of online sales of the products concerned are underway with around ten online sales platforms," ​​adds the drug watchdog, without naming them.

E-commerce has led to a proliferation of unregulated sites, facilitating the development of a global market for illicit drugs.