Highlights:
- Fake Anti-Obesity Drugs enter the market.
- Fake anti-cancer drugs sold to desperate patients.
- Not only counterfeits there should be embargo on genuine drugs which do not work
Website: https://uho.org.in
Download: https://uho.org.in/nl/2026-04-24-newsletter.pdf (copy and paste the link)
By Dr. Amitav Banerjee, Chairperson of the Universal Health Organisation (UHO)
The healthcare sector is currently facing a dual challenge: the rise of sophisticated counterfeit drug syndicates and the persistence of ineffective, yet widely distributed, medical products. Recent reports from the Universal Health Organisation (UHO) highlight these systemic failures, emphasizing the urgent need for regulatory reform, price controls, and a return to lifestyle-based preventive care.
Fake Anti-Obesity Drugs enter the market.
Indian authorities have uncovered a suspected counterfeit drug operation involving popular
weight-loss and diabetes treatments. Officials in the state of Haryana seized more than 260
pens believed to be fake versions of Mounjaro, a drug developed by Eli Lilly. The raid took
place on the outskirts of New Delhi, where two individuals were arrested for allegedly
manufacturing and distributing the counterfeit products.
According to the Haryana Food and Drug Control Administration, the main accused did not
possess a valid pharmaceutical license and was producing the drugs at a private property.
Investigators say the suspects sourced raw peptide materials from vendors on Alibaba and
sold the finished products through IndiaMART at prices about 27% lower than genuine
versions.
Authorities also recovered materials worth approximately ₹70 lakh, including packaging
components and labels designed to mimic authentic branding. However, the seized pens
reportedly showed inconsistencies such as incorrect font styles and were not stored under
required temperature conditions both strong indicators of counterfeit production.
The case highlights the rapid growth of India’s obesity-treatment market, driven by branded drugs like Mounjaro and products from Novo Nordisk, alongside cheaper alternatives. The market is projected to reach ₹8,000 crore by 2030.
Samples of the seized drugs have been sent to government laboratories for verification, and the accused remain in judicial custody as investigations continue. Eli Lilly has stated that it supports regulatory action and emphasized its commitment to patient safety.
UHO would like to caution people to avoid the mad rush for anti-obesity drugs fake or
otherwise. Lifestyle discipline should be the first step in obesity prevention and control. If at all in few resistant cases weight reduction drugs is considered, they should be taken underexpert supervision and purchased from reliable chemist shops. The fake anti-obesity drug racket assumes significance in view of statements by some experts suggesting that these medicines may find use in combination drugs to tackle the rising incidence of fatty liver disease among Indians. UHO expresses concerns that lifestyle diseases, which include fatty live disease, are increasingly being medicalized instead of stressing on healthy behaviours around physical activity, good nutrition, and avoiding ultraprocessed foods and drinks.
Fake anti-cancer drugs sold to desperate patients.
The menace for counterfeit medicines is not limited to fast growing markets like the antiobesity drugs but runs deeper. A nexus of pharmacists and fixers operate by using authentic batch numbers and used vials of Merck and Co’s Keytruda to sell counterfeits of this costly anticancer drug, priced at Rs 1.5 lakhs to desperate patients.
Not only desperate patients, even hospitals, have become unwitting customers of fake
Keytruda, with potentially fatal consequences.
In 2025, Keytruda accounted for nearly half of Merck’s $65 billion revenue, making it the
company’s biggest moneymaker. And Merck has worked tirelessly to keep it that way.
Investigation by International Consortium of Investigaative Journalists (ICIJ) and 47 media
partners including the Indian Express, found that Merck has exploited the global patent
system to ward off competitors. It has also promoted a higher dosage of Keytruda than is
often necessary, driving up costs for patients and hospitals, in its aggressive campaign to
boost revenue.The resulting high prices have contributed to vast disparities in access depending on where patients live and how much they, their governments or their health insurers are willing or able to pay. This dynamic has created a dangerous opening: new opportunities for counterfeiters to cash in on demand for costly oncology medicines as cancer rates soar worldwide.
Anthony Zook, Merck’s associate vice president for global security, told ICIJ in an email that “criminal groups are now more commonly targeting life-saving medicines.”
“This shift is financially driven,” he said. Even so, in a statement to ICIJ, Merck defended its pricing.
“We have a long history of responsibly pricing our medicines to reflect their value to patients, payers and society,” said Johanna Herrmann, senior vice president and chief communications officer at Merck.
For counterfeiters, it’s all profit and no downside. The fake, composed of antifungal medicatiosn cost nothing to make it when they’re selling it for Rs 1.5 lakhs. And if a cancer patient dies, it’s unlikely anyone will ever know whether they died from cancer or from taking a fake drug. “It’s the perfect crime.” The figure below shows the “critical control weak points 6, 8, and 10” exploited by the scammers to produce counterfeits with same batch numbers. UHO recommends extra vigilance at these critical points, price controls to reduce the profit margins for fakes, and fast track courts for such offences.
Not only counterfeits there should be embargo on genuine drugs which do not work.
Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) was used as a nasal decongestant for many years till around
2000.. But they were concerns around it of abuse. Prior to that, phenylephrine wasn’t in
widespread use — at least not in oral form. But lawmakers cracked down on pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in Sudafed’s original formulation, since it could be
made into methamphetamine, particularly the “shake-and-bake” synthesis in soda bottles.
The laws obliged pharmacies to keep pseudoephedrine products behind the counter and
added other barriers to purchase, which prompted Sudafed’s maker at the time, Pfizer, to
find a new ingredient. Other companies quickly followed suit.
Manufacturers found alternatives to pseudoephedrine using phenylephrine — the latter of
which had already been FDA-approved, could not easily be made into meth and was
available over the counter.Since then the substitute drug with the brand name Sudafed PE
flooded the market due to easy availability.
Soon after a pharmacist Randy Hatton in the USA who runs a hotline for drug inquiries
started getting feedback from buyers of Sudafed PE that the replacement does not work. He followed these up by collecting evidence of efficacy or rather lack of efficacy of Sudafed PE.
Based on his meticulous research Hatton along with others have filed a petition to remove
the ineffective Sudafed PE from the approved list.
In their 2024 article — titled, “What We Have Learned From Trying To Remove Oral
Phenylephrine From The Market” — Hatton and Hendeles wrote that the process was
slow. It got political. The two took issue with those who implied that keeping drugs on the
market offered consumers a choice. An ineffective drug wasn’t a choice, Hatton said.
In India too, pseudoephedrine (PSE) is tightly controlled; it is not freely sold over the counter the way it once was. The rules have progressively restricted manufacture, supply and retail sale because of its widespread diversion into illegal methamphetamine and methcathinone production.
However, while Sudafed PE has to be imported online in India, decongestants
containing phenylephrine are widely available in India in both over-the-counter (OTC) and
prescription forms, often sold as tablets, syrups, and nasal sprays. Common, easily
accessible brands include Solvin Decongestant Tablet, Cheston Cold, T-Minic and various
combination medications for cold and allergy relief. UHO recommends our authorities also should review ineffective drugs and put an embargo
on them. The image shows how similar the two products, one with narcotic potential, the other ineffective, look.
The weekly newsletters bring the updates on the science, battered and bruised during the pandemic, legal updates and impact of activism for a just society, across the world. These are small steps to promote Transparency, Empowerment and Accountability – the ethos of the UHO.
Announcement: Membership & endorsements to the UHO invited: https://uho.org.in/member.php
Also Read:
Universal Health Organisation (UHO) Weekly Newsletter – 17 April 2026