Wes Streeting has previously urged people not to use unlicensed weight-loss jabs over safety fears.
Retatrutide is an experimental weight-loss drug still in the process of clinical trials.
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Alamy
Illegal weight-loss drugs are being sold in the UK by firms with high Trustpilot scores as calls mount for more regulation.
Companies are thought to be using the reviews website in a bid to appear “legitimate” despite offering unlicensed jabs.
Among those was reportedly Retatrutide UK, which had a score of 4.4 on Trustpilot, according to a Guardian investigation.
It sells an experimental weight-loss jab, retatrutide, that has not yet completed clinical trials.
A second retatrutide seller, listed on under the name Retatide, had a 4.6 rating on Trustpilot. In a comment to the publication, the seller said it had: “disengaged from Retatide.com and Retatrutide … several months ago.”
Read more: Ozempic and Wegovy drugmaker cuts profit targets amid intense weight-loss competition
Wes Streeting has previously urged the public not to use unlicensed weight-loss jabs.
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Getty
Another website Retatrutide Pens had an “immediate closure notice” on its page but had a 4.7 score on Trustpilot.
Emily Rickard, who researched the political economy of the pharmaceutical industry at the University of Bath, told the publication the lack of online regulation was “alarming and dangerous”.
She said: “In our research we consistently uncover advertising rule breaches across regulated online weight-loss services, exposing how weak the current safeguards are even surrounding officially approved products.
“Against that backdrop, the prevalence of illegal sellers offering unlicensed drugs like retatrutide – and presenting themselves as legitimate via glowing Trustpilot reviews – is especially alarming and dangerous. It shows how within just a few clicks people can be drawn into unsafe, unregulated markets.”
The public was previously warned against using “dangerous” unlicensed weight-loss medication by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, after a bust on a illegal weight loss factory in Northamptonshire, which was producing retatrutide pens, in October.
Ozempic is a licensed weight-loss jab.
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Getty
He said: “These unregulated products, made with no regard for safety or quality, posed a major risk to unwitting customers.
“My message is clear: don’t buy weight loss medications from unregulated sources. Talk to your GP, seek NHS advice, and don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health.
“Safe, appropriate, licensed obesity drugs can greatly benefit those in need if taken under medical supervision, and I urge people to only purchase and use them with the approval and oversight of medics and pharmacists.”
In response, Trustpilot said it had blocked all the businesses uncovered by The Guardian investigation.
A spokesperson said: “As with other misuse, such as review fabrication, bad actors are continuously evolving their tactics in an attempt to circumvent our detection. Alongside other high-risk industries, we continue to investigate companies selling drug-related products and evolve our processes to protect the integrity of the platform.”
A spokesperson for the MHRA said: “Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its criminal enforcement unit works hard to prevent, detect and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary.”