In Belfast, black-market access to an unapproved and potentially dangerous weight loss drug is just a click away.
Retatrutide is currently being developed by the US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, best known for weight loss products like Mounjaro.
Still undergoing clinical trials, Retatrutide is not approved for sale anywhere in the world with the company warning against illegal sellers.
Recent reports in the Republic have said ‘Reta’ is growing in popularity among gym users, with more people presenting at hospitals with side effects including vomiting and kidney disease.
On social media platforms like Facebook, The Irish News has seen multiple pages posting requests for ‘Reta’ in Belfast with the comments sections flooded with offers.
One video post on a Belfast-based account, offering advice on the drug, warns people becoming sick from retatrutide have only themselves to blame as they are using it too quickly.
When messaged to ask if retatrutide could be bought in Belfast, within minutes The Irish News was directed to Clova Health, a “UK-based peptide and wellness supplier”.
Multiple options for the drug were advertised with the label ‘research purpose only’, ranging in price from £140 to £250 for a single ‘pre-filled research pen’.
With options to pay in instalments, the Facebook account in Belfast offered a 10% discount code and delivery in two days, claiming: “They’re transparent with their product testing and have strong independent customer reviews, so you can check everything yourself rather than buying from a random seller online.”
Police reported a major seizure of unlicensed medication including weight loss jabs in Northern Ireland earlier this year as part of Operation Pangea.
When asked directly if the product was legal, the account user did not reply and deleted their earlier video post.
Both the account user and Clova Health have been approached for further comment.
When contacted by The Irish News about the website, an Eli Lilly spokesperson warned that “knockoff” sellers were potentially selling “deadly” products.
“Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that has not been approved by any regulator anywhere in the world,” they said.
“No one can legally sell it for human use. ‘Research use only’ knockoffs of our investigational medicines are not purified to pharmaceutical-grade levels and they often come from illicit, unregulated foreign suppliers.
“Research-grade, counterfeit, and black market medicines are unverified, unregulated and potentially dangerous — in some cases, deadly. Patients deserve safe, effective and clinically tested medicines.
“Lilly has reported more than 14,000 websites, advertisements, social media posts and product listings that unlawfully market retatrutide in over 100 countries to internet service providers, social media platforms, and e-commerce companies.
“We are working with regulators, law enforcement and social media platforms to remove illegal products and content. Stronger, coordinated enforcement must be sustained to protect patients from unsafe fake medicines.”
It follows a major surge in the seizure of unlicensed and unregulated weight loss drugs in Northern Ireland this year.
New figures from the Department of Health show that nearly 3,200 of these products have been seized by the Medicine Regulatory Group (MRG) since 2024, with the overwhelming majority (2,242) this year alone.
A department spokesperson said that MRG investigations have established “falsified and unlicensed injectable weight-loss medication in circulation in Northern Ireland leading to some people suffering adverse reactions and hospitalisation”.
The public are warned against buying medicines from social media platforms, unverified websites or “dubious sources”.
“There is no way of knowing what you are buying is what you think it is, and this can have serious consequences for your health,” the spokesperson said.
“It is vital that people take prescription only medicines after consultation with their GP, pharmacist or other healthcare professional who have access to patient health records and can consider the risks and benefits associated with every medicine.”
A spokesperson from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that retatrutide could not be legally supplied outside of clinical trials.
“The routes by which illegally supplied products enter the UK vary from case to case. The MHRA works with partner agencies to identify and disrupt illegal importation and distribution, but we cannot comment on specific intelligence, operational methods or emerging trends while enforcement activity is ongoing.
“Patient safety is the MHRA’s top priority. We work tirelessly to provide people with the guidance and information needed to ensure they access medicines, including those used for weight loss, correctly and safely.”
They added that medicines from illegal or unregulated sources could be supporting criminal networks.
Anyone who believes they have suffered a side effect from a medicine or think they’ve received a product which is not genuine can report it to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme.