Eli Lilly Sues Over Knock-Off Weight-Loss Drugs

Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, filed three separate lawsuits against online vendors and a medical spa for making knock off weight loss drugs.

The pharmaceutical company's popular weight loss drug, Zepbound, has an active ingredient of tirzepatide, which the copycat versions falsely claim to contain.

The lawsuits name Genesis Lifestyle Medicine of Nevada, MangoRx, and Pivotal Peptides, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit alleges that Pivotal Peptides is selling products that claim to contain tirzepatide to consumers without a prescription from a medical provider and they're doing so by marketing under the guise of research purposes. The website markets it as "research grade."

MangoRx sells a compounded version of the drug online while Genesis, a medical spa, administers varying compounded versions with B12 to their clients, according to the lawsuit.

In the suit against MangoRx, the Indianapolis-based company said it was selling Trim, an oral substitution of tirzepatide, without any research showing the safety or efficacy of the drug.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved trizepatide as an injectable drug.

After Pivotal Peptides received a cease and desist letter from Eli Lilly, it changed its operations to sell it by social media, email and word of mouth, the lawsuit claims.

Eli Lilly is seeking court orders stopping the vendors from selling their drugs that claim to contain tirzepatide and undisclosed monetary damages.

The lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts in Washington, Texas and Indiana, accusing the defendants of false advertising and promotion.

Eli Lilly has already sued over 20 medical spas and compounding pharmacies for selling and marketing products that claim to contain tirzepatide.

Tirzepatide is also used to treat type 2 diabetes. Another popular version of the drug on the market is Mounjaro.