Eli Lilly sues companies over illegal retatrutide sales

Eli Lilly and Company has filed six new lawsuits against U.S. entities accused of illegally selling black-market versions of its experimental obesity drug, retatrutide. The legal action targets various businesses, including compounding pharmacies, medical spas, and online sellers that allegedly market the drug to consumers despite it still being in Phase 3 clinical trials.

Retatrutide is currently being studied for obesity and type 2 diabetes, but no regulatory agency has approved it for human use. The company emphasized that the products being sold are unverified and unapproved. Lilly has already referred hundreds of bad actors to law enforcement and regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to the lawsuits, Lilly is calling on social media platforms, e-commerce sites, payment processors, and shipping carriers to take stronger action to prevent the sale of these unauthorized products. The FDA has previously stated that the sale of unapproved retatrutide to consumers is illegal and that the drug cannot be lawfully compounded.