Lilly calls on online platforms, payment companies and regulators to shut down the illegal retatrutide black market

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today escalated its continued fight to protect patients from the dangerous black market for retatrutide, filing six new lawsuits against U.S. entities selling black-market products in addition to having referred hundreds of bad actors to regulators and law enforcement worldwide.

Lilly is also calling on the entities that sellers use to conduct their illegal business—social media and e-commerce platforms, credit card companies, payment processors and shipping and logistics carriers—to help protect patients and fight this illicit activity.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), unapproved drugs sold for human use may pose significant risks for patients and are illegal.

Retatrutide is an investigational molecule in Phase 3 clinical trials for obesity, type 2 diabetes and other related indications. No medicine containing retatrutide has yet been approved for human use by any regulatory agency in the world. It cannot be sold to consumers.

FDA has made clear that sales of unapproved retatrutide to consumers are illegal, that retatrutide cannot be lawfully compounded, and that so-called "research-use only" products "are of unknown quality and may be harmful to [consumers'] health." Yet black-market sellers and businesses posing as legitimate medical providers openly sell retatrutide as a weight-loss "hack." These "medical spas," "wellness clinics" and self-styled suppliers are not practicing medicine; they are selling illegal drugs, frequently made by unregulated foreign manufacturers.

Regulators, customs agencies and law enforcement worldwide have warned of the same dangers and acted on them, raiding clandestine manufacturing sites, seizing shipments and arresting those involved.

Lilly's lawsuits target U.S. entities selling illegal retatrutide products, including compounding pharmacies, medical spas, and online sellers that falsely claim their drugs are for "research-use only" when they are actually intended for human use.

Lilly has also referred more than 200 individuals and entities to FDA, the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general, law enforcement, and professional licensing boards, and is working with global regulators, law enforcement, and customs authorities to stop this illegal market.

The company has reported more than 14,000 websites, advertisements, social media posts and product listings that unlawfully market retatrutide in over 100 countries to internet service providers, social media platforms, and e-commerce companies, but some continue to amplify misleading content to vulnerable consumers.

Now, Lilly is calling on others to join the fight for patient safety: Drug regulators, customs agencies, law enforcement and other government authorities must treat the sale of unapproved retatrutide as the urgent public health crisis it is, prioritizing enforcement and coordinating across borders to dismantle the criminal networks selling these drugs.

Social media and e-commerce platforms must stop enabling—and in some cases fueling—this illegal market and must take proactive steps to block this conduct before it reaches consumers.

Credit card companies, payment processors, shipping and logistics companies, and other entities that sellers use to conduct their illegal businesses must cut off the infrastructure enabling this illegal trade.

Healthcare providers should raise awareness of the potentially serious risks involved.

Everyone can help by reporting illegal ...