How hunger for a new weight-loss drug is feeding an industry of fakes

"People are effectively injecting an illegal drug and thinking it's safe."It's become so normalised people openly talk about their dealers, where's best to get it from and post all over social media."One quick flick through my socials and I can order a batch of a drug billed as retatrutide in minutes – although I would have no proof what it's actually made of, what its effects would be and where….

Despite positive results in its most recent clinical trials, real retatrutide is still being tested for its safety and efficacy.Only 50% of drugs in this Phase III stage of testing in the US are eventually approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so there is no guarantee retatrutide will ever hit the market.

The high rate of failure is primarily down to drugs not working as well in large, diverse human populations as they do in smaller early tests, or because they reveal unexpected safety hazards.And the current, fake versions available may not resemble what's being developed in the safe confines of the laboratory.The UK's medicines regulator found more than 2,000 unlicensed retatrutide pens during a raid on an illegal weight loss drug….

These products may also have too much or too little active ingredient, or the wrong ingredient entirely".Despite this, it seems there are plenty of people willing to take that gamble."Young fit patients are coming into hospital with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, in some cases kidney failure," says endocrinologist, Prof Donal O'Shea.He says some personal trainers are not only supplying their clients with the drug, they are also injecting them with it."The….

He ordered it from a Chinese supplier after friends at his gym recommended it."It was horrendous," says the 20-year-old from Brighton.

"My body felt so under pressure, I was so bloated, it was like someone had dropped a 20kg weight on my stomach."For 72 hours I had really bad diarrhoea and nausea.

I thought, if this continues I'm going to end up in A&E."Tom later realised he had given himself eight times the recommended dose.

Depending on what is ordered, copycat retatrutide can arrive needing to be mixed with sterile, bacteriostatic water which requires various calculations.Dr Nas Khattak, a research doctor based in Chester, has been screening patients for one of Eli Lilly's Phase III clinical trials.

He says those sourcing fake versions are in effect behaving as lab rats without any medical oversight."If users who buy it online become their own doctor, they're taking a huge risk," he warns.He says trial participants need to meet strict criteria before they are given the green light to start taking the real drug or a placebo."We request their GP record, we make sure that they're emotionally well.

They'll have suicide, self-harm, mental health assessments – and this is all done by doctors."Then we come back and have a look at the blood tests, have a look at everything, and then we think whether they're suitable or not."Tom decided to do more research into dosing and, despite the nasty side effects he'd previously experienced, decided to give his fake version of retatrutide another go.

After nine months of taking it in cycles, he says his cravings for sugar and junk food have gone.Pharmacist Shahid warns that just because a fake version of reta works for one person, does not mean it will "work for the next".The obesity drugs currently on the market – the likes of semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy), and tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro) – target just one or two hormone receptors.

But, if approved, retatrutide will become the first weight loss medication in the world to act on three, giving it the nickname the "triple G".GLP-1 – this slows down stomach emptying, signals fullness to the brain to reduce appetite and helps control blood sugar levelsGIP – this enhances insulin secretion and improves insulin sensitivity, and works alongside GLP-1 to help the body process nutrients and reduces hungerGlucagon – this is….

It increases resting energy expenditure so the body burns more calories, promotes liver fat breakdown and supports weight loss.Lisa says if she experiences any side effects she will come off the drugLisa King has been taking a fake version of retatrutide since July and at one stage, while she was also going to the gym and eating healthily, she was losing 3kg (6lb) a week.It's also, she believes, helping her….