The black market is rampant, jeopardizing major new drugs, and Lily.US (LLY.US) has set off a global “anti-counterfeiting and defense war” of diet pills

The Zhitong Finance App learned that LLY.US (LLY.US) is stepping up efforts to crack down on the strongly developing retatrutide (retatrutide) black market. Retaglutide is an experimental drug, and Lilly hopes to expand its critical diet medicine business with this drug.

For nearly two years, Eli Lilly has warned consumers not to use generic retaglutide injections sold online, in health clinics, and medical spas. The drug has not been approved by regulators anywhere in the world.

Today, Eli Lilly is putting more pressure on it. The pharmaceutical company said on Wednesday that it plans to file lawsuits against US companies that illegally sell retaglutide products and ask regulators to take more steps to curb this illegal market. Eli Lilly pointed out that companies that facilitate and support these sales — including credit card companies, logistics companies, and social media platforms — also have responsibilities in protecting consumers, calling it an “urgent public health crisis.”

Max Denning, vice president of global patient safety at Eli Lilly's Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Division, said that tracking a generic version of retaglutide is like playing a “whack-a-mole” game. According to Eli Lilly, these drugs are often produced by unregulated foreign manufacturers.

In an interview, Denning said, “This is a huge problem, a global problem,” and “it's not something we can solve alone.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has clearly stated that it is illegal for pharmacies to prepare their own retaglutide. Since 2024, the FDA has sent warning letters to at least 16 companies claiming to sell retaglutide.

However, the analysis showed that as of August 11, many of these companies were still selling generic versions of the drug.

Behind the scenes, Li has been trying to crack down on the global retaglutide trade for years. The company has handed over more than 200 entities to the FDA, the US Department of Justice, state attorneys general, law enforcement, and professional licensing boards. Eli Lilly said that more than 14,000 websites, ads, social media posts and product listings have been reported in more than 100 countries, yet some companies continue to spread misleading content to vulnerable consumers.

Eli Lilly and its rivals Novo & Nordisk have been waging a similar fight against generic versions of their best-selling diet pills Zepbound and Wegovy. But retaglutide has taken the fight to a whole new level.

Since Eli Lilly announced the results of an interim study showing that retaglutide may be more potent than any weight loss drug currently on the market, the drug has continued to be sought for many years. Since then, people around the world have been eager to get the black market version and buy it from overseas sellers — sellers who label it “for research use only” to evade regulation.

On social media, the drug is known as “reta,” “r3ta,” and even “ratatouille” (ratatouille), because people are increasingly looking for workarounds to circumvent restrictions on weight loss related content imposed by companies such as TikTok.

If approved by regulators, retaglutide is expected to generate more than $5.4 billion in sales per year by 2030. But black markets can pose significant risks. Although Eli Lilly has been carrying out its own large-scale clinical trial program with this drug, any safety risks that arise from the generic version could jeopardize the drug's reputation. The company plans to apply for approval from the FDA early next year.

Eli Lilly said that federal and local authorities have taken some “encouraging” actions, including a large-scale seizure carried out by the Cincinnati Customs and Border Protection last year. Federal prosecutors have also been cracking down on illegal sellers. Last month, the owner of a well-known peptide company that sells retaglutide was sentenced by a judge to nearly six years in prison.

Denning said Eli Lilly is still communicating with law enforcement authorities in Britain, Brazil, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. He added that the company is urging regulators and law enforcement agencies to prioritize enforcement actions and “coordinate across countries to eradicate criminal networks involved in the sale of retaglutide.”