The Steyr Public Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating the case surrounding a suspected counterfeit diabetes drug Ozempic, which was sold as a weight loss aid. Six house searches have already taken place – because a company through which the distribution would be established is said to be located in the Steyr district.
The searches took place at private individuals and in business premises, Authority spokeswoman Julia Rauscher confirmed a report in the “Ö1-Mittagsjournal” on Tuesday. The Public Prosecution Service has not yet received a report on the outcome. It is also not clear whether counterfeit money is still in circulation. “We are just getting started,” they said. The Public Prosecution Service currently only knows the woman who filed the case as the injured party.
Woman had to go to hospital
According to her lawyers, the allegedly counterfeit diabetes drug was legally sold to the Salzburg woman by her plastic surgeon as a weight loss aid. The woman had to be hospitalized in September with serious health problems. She is doing well again now. “She wants others to be warned that she got it from a legitimate source,” her attorney said. The 31-year-old is said to have been given the correct medication several times since January until the “suspected counterfeit medication” was handed over to her on September 12.
“Several people affected”
The federal investigation reported on Monday that “several people were affected”. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, “the use of counterfeit products has already led to health risks that could have led to death without immediate medical treatment.” The affected batch was obtained by the people from the doctor in Austria, the researchers said.
Side effects as an indication
The Federal Office for Healthcare Safety (BASG) announced last Thursday that these serious side effects are an indication that the product incorrectly contained insulin instead of the active substance semaglutide. The BASG emphasized that there is no evidence that the counterfeit products were supplied to patients by legitimate pharmacies. Counterfeits of Ozempic have already emerged in at least fourteen countries, including Austria and Germany, as well as Britain, Egypt and Russia. The color of the fakes differs from the original, the ‘blue’ is darker than the original, the Federal Criminal Police Office reported on Monday.
Information about medicines not purchased through pharmacies can be provided to bundeskritikamt@bmi.gv.at.
Source: Krone
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