Still undergoing clinical trials, Retatrutide is not approved for sale anywhere in the world with the company warning against illegal sellers.<\/p>\n
Recent reports in the Republic have said \u2018Reta\u2019 is growing in popularity among gym users, with more people presenting at hospitals with side effects including vomiting and kidney disease.<\/p>\n
On social media platforms like Facebook, The Irish News has seen multiple pages posting requests for \u2018Reta\u2019 in Belfast with the comments sections flooded with offers.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n When messaged to ask if retatrutide could be bought in Belfast, within minutes The Irish News was directed to Clova Health, a \u201cUK-based peptide and wellness supplier\u201d.<\/p>\n Multiple options for the drug were advertised with the label \u2018research purpose only\u2019, ranging in price from \u00a3140 to \u00a3250 for a single \u2018pre-filled research pen\u2019.<\/p>\n With options to pay in instalments, the Facebook account in Belfast offered a 10% discount code and delivery in two days, claiming: \u201cThey\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked directly if the product was legal, the account user did not reply and deleted their earlier video post.<\/p>\n Both the account user and Clova Health have been approached for further comment.<\/p>\n When contacted by The Irish News about the website, an Eli Lilly spokesperson warned that \u201cknockoff\u201d sellers were potentially selling \u201cdeadly\u201d products.<\/p>\n \u201cRetatrutide is an investigational molecule that has not been approved by any regulator anywhere in the world,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n \u201cNo one can legally sell it for human use. \u2018Research use only\u2019 knockoffs of our investigational medicines are not purified to pharmaceutical-grade levels and they often come from illicit, unregulated foreign suppliers. <\/p>\n \u201cResearch-grade, counterfeit, and black market medicines are unverified, unregulated and potentially dangerous \u2014 in some cases, deadly. Patients deserve safe, effective and clinically tested medicines.<\/p>\n \u201cLilly 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n It follows a major surge in the seizure of unlicensed and unregulated weight loss drugs<\/a> in Northern Ireland this year.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A department spokesperson said that MRG investigations have established \u201cfalsified and unlicensed injectable weight-loss medication in circulation in Northern Ireland leading to some people suffering adverse reactions and hospitalisation\u201d.<\/p>\n The public are warned against buying medicines from social media platforms, unverified websites or \u201cdubious sources\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no way of knowing what you are buying is what you think it is, and this can have serious consequences for your health,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson from the UK\u2019s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that retatrutide could not be legally supplied outside of clinical trials.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cPatient safety is the MHRA\u2019s top priority. We work tirelessly to provide people with the guidance and information<\/a> needed to ensure they access medicines, including those used for weight loss, correctly and safely.\u201d<\/p>\n They added that medicines from illegal or unregulated sources could be supporting criminal networks.<\/p>\n![\"Mo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LS75QCFJNRDEPK5NYYT3NROWEE.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TNOVV6R7ZBN4XMAWQOZDX476HM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7JAYOV2OBVBQPGCOIZE7JAHMIA.jpeg\")
Police reported a major seizure of unlicensed medication including weight loss jabs in Northern Ireland earlier this year as part of Operation Pangea. <\/p>\n