Known high-risk product categories

1. Counterfeit GLP-1 pens (Wegovy / Ozempic / Mounjaro)

What: Falsified or relabelled injection pens purporting to be Wegovy, Ozempic, or Mounjaro. Includes pens containing insulin instead of semaglutide / tirzepatide.

Why high-risk: Identity, concentration, and sterility all uncertain. Insulin substitution in counterfeit pens creates acute hypoglycaemia risk in non-diabetic users. MHRA has issued repeated alerts including the February 2026 Mounjaro 15 mg KwikPen falsification.

Lawful route: UK GPhC-registered pharmacy against a UK prescription from a GMC-registered prescriber.

See fake pen alert hub.

2. ‘Compounded’ semaglutide and tirzepatide

What: Generic-vial or non-branded GLP-1 supply marketed by online clinics on price, frequently sourced from outside the UK regulated manufacturing chain.

Why high-risk: Sits outside the UK ‘specials’ framework. Concentration variability, identity questions, and quality-assurance gaps documented in comparable markets. Active MHRA enforcement target.

Lawful route: Licensed UK brands (Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda) via real prescriber + registered pharmacy.

See compounded peptides and UK law.

3. Melanotan I and II (cosmetic tanning)

What: Synthetic alpha-MSH analogues sold as injectable cosmetic tanning products. Distinct from licensed afamelanotide (Scenesse) for the rare EPP indication.

Why high-risk: Repeated MHRA public-health warnings. Documented adverse effects include skin lesions, mole changes (with melanoma case reports), severe GI effects, and cardiovascular events.

Lawful route: None for cosmetic tanning use. For EPP, specialist NHS centres dispense licensed afamelanotide on a controlled-access basis.

See melanotan UK legal status.

4. Research-grade investigational drugs (retatrutide, amycretin, cagrilintide)

What: Vials labelled as investigational drugs not yet approved anywhere, sold by online research-chemical suppliers.

Why high-risk: No licensed reference product anywhere to compare against. Identity unverifiable, dosing unestablished outside trials, safety profile under-characterised in non-trial use. The grey-market risk profile is even worse than for established research peptides.

Lawful route: Participation in a registered clinical trial. Search NIHR Be Part of Research.

See retatrutide UK status, cagrilintide UK status, amycretin UK status.

5. ‘Pharma-grade’ research peptides (BPC-157, TB-500, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, etc.)

What: Vials of unlicensed peptides sold with ‘research only’ labelling but presented to consumers with dosing tables, reconstitution guides, and human-use marketing.

Why high-risk: No UK marketing authorisation, no PIL, no batch testing you can rely on. Independent testing of comparable peptide supply has shown identity and concentration variability. The ‘pharma-grade’ label is a marketing claim, not a regulatory category.

Lawful route: For research with proper ethics oversight, licensed manufacturers (Sigma, Bachem, etc.) supply research peptides into research institutions. That is not the consumer market.

See unlicensed peptide risks.

6. ‘Research-grade’ semaglutide / tirzepatide vials

What: Vials labelled as semaglutide or tirzepatide for ‘research use only’, sold to consumers via online research-chemical suppliers.

Why high-risk: Same active ingredients as Wegovy / Ozempic / Mounjaro, so same POM status. Supply is unlawful, identity is unverifiable, and the marketing contradicts the ‘research only’ disclaimer.

Lawful route: Licensed UK product via real prescriber + registered pharmacy.

7. ‘Anti-ageing peptide therapy’ protocols

What: Multi-peptide cocktails (often CJC-1295 + ipamorelin + sermorelin or similar) marketed for anti-ageing / longevity by clinics or as research-peptide stacks.

Why high-risk: Stacked unlicensed substances compound the regulatory and safety issues. No combination has UK marketing authorisation. Human RCT evidence for the marketed outcomes is absent.

Lawful route: None for the marketed indication. Licensed GH-related medicines exist for specific clinical deficiencies via specialist endocrinology.

8. ‘Compounded’ amino-acid blends marketed as peptides

What: Marketing of supplement products as ‘peptide therapy’ when they are actually amino-acid blends or ill-defined mixtures.

Why high-risk: Identity not what consumers think. Pricing premium based on a misleading category association. Sometimes accompanied by genuine peptide content at sub-therapeutic levels.

Lawful route: Standard food supplements per FSA rules; not marketed as ‘peptide therapy’.