Six Pharmacies and Clinics Caught Selling 'Wegovy' and 'Mounjaro' Without Prescription

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Local Governments Inspect Proper Distribution of GLP-1 Class Obesity Medications

Six pharmacies and clinics have been found to have sold prescription-only obesity treatments in the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, without a prescription.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 13th that, in a joint inspection with local governments, it inspected 632 medical institutions and pharmacies, and found violations of the Medical Service Act and Pharmaceutical Affairs Act at six locations (about 1%).

GLP-1 class obesity treatments are medicines containing GLP-1, which increase insulin secretion, suppress glucagon release, delay hunger, and promote weight loss. Since their launch, indiscriminate prescriptions and sales for cosmetic purposes, as well as direct overseas purchases, have become a social issue. In response, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been cracking down on proper distribution, as well as illegal sales and advertising activities through online channels.

In this inspection, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety cross-checked the supply records of the relevant medicines reported by pharmaceutical wholesalers to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service with the actual inventory records. It also checked whether medical institutions or pharmacies dispensed or sold these medicines without a prescription, in order to evaluate the appropriateness of pharmaceutical distribution. As a result, six locations were found non-compliant: two cases where the physician—who established the medical institution—used the medicines themselves without recording it in the medical records, and four cases where pharmacies sold prescription drugs without a prescription or provided them to acquaintances.

The two medical institutions that violated Article 22, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act are subject to an administrative penalty of a fine up to 5 million won and suspension of qualifications for 15 days. The four pharmacies that violated Article 23, Paragraph 3 and Article 50, Paragraph 2 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act are subject to imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won, and suspension of qualifications for 15 days. Each local government plans to take follow-up measures, including filing complaints and administrative sanctions against the detected institutions.

An official from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We will continue to monitor the proper distribution of GLP-1 class obesity treatments, as well as crack down on illegal sales and advertising activities through online platforms and social networking services (SNS)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.