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Weight loss jabs could become more widely available from rogue sellers, as Wegovy comes ‘off patent’ in countries such as Brazil and China.

MPs have been warned that unlicensed online pharmacies could sell cheaper appetite-suppressing drugs to people who should not have them, such as young girls and people with conditions such as anorexia. The Health and Social Care committee urged UK pharmacists and regulators to give evidence following deaths of people buying the weekly jabs on the black market.

Semaglutide is the key ingredient in market-leading injections Ozempic, prescribed on the NHS for Type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, prescribed for weight loss. Pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk makes semaglutide, but its patent expires in India this month, where there has been a major rush from local manufacturers to mass produce cheaper versions. More than 50 brands are set to launch their own versions in the next few months.

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Dr Kieran Seyan, Chief Medical Officer at Pharmacy2U, told the committee: “My personal concern is that we have just seen semaglutide go off licence in places like India, so this is going to be manufactured on a wide scale. It’s not that it's a dodgy drug but access to that illicit market may increase as a result.”

Currently 1.6 million Brits are on weight loss injections, mostly accessed via private prescriptions. The NHS is slowly rolling out access to the most seriously obese and unwell. The private cost of Wegovy in the UK is currently between £80 and £300 for a four-week supply, depending on the dosage.

The patent for semaglutide also expires in March 2026 in China and Brazil and it is set to expire later this year in Turkey and South Africa. The patent is subject to an extension in the US and Europe where it is due to expire between 2031 and 2033.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) told the committee that the impact of generic “biosimilar” weight loss jabs flooding the UK market is being investigated by a Government task force. John Spoors, Programme Director at NICE, said: “When the patent expires, the prices start to drop.”

It comes after the advertisement of unregulated “skinny jabs” on social media sites such as TikTok. A number of people have died after taking unlicensed drugs including a woman in her 50s in Sunderland in 2024.

Committee chair Layla Moran said: “We are way, way behind and there are a number of families and people who are now affected by this. Young girls are finding a way [to access the drugs]... they are getting it illegally from abroad. And some people have died. There is huge public concern about this.”

Unregulated pharmacies including rogue beauty salons can sell the jabs without accessing a patient’s medical history with the risk that the drugs react with existing conditions, leading to dangerous side effects. Dodgy sellers also may not check that a buyer actually needs to lose weight.

Ms Moran added: “We've got millions of people who are eligible on the NHS, let alone those who are after it for a bikini body who shouldn't be taking it. They are turning to the black market to do it.”

Injections such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro slow digestion and reduce appetite by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) which regulates hunger and feelings of fullness. They commonly cause side effects such as vomiting and require personalised support from specialists so that weight loss is maintained.

An investigator at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told MPs that the profit margins on the illicit jabs trade are bigger than the illegal trade in drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Andy Morling, Head of Criminal Enforcement at the MHRA, said: “We have seen GLP-1 drugs that are illegally traded but it is the genuine product. That doesn't make it safe. It hasn't been produced in accordance with genuine manufacturing processes, the sterility is questionable, or the dosage is questionable. It's absolutely not safe but it is the genuine product.”

Mr Morling added: “I honestly believe that a lot of the people that are buying these products from the black market, don't know they're buying from the black market. There's been a blurring of the edges between medicine and cosmetic products over the last 18 months.”