BEIRUT: Lebanese health officials have revealed that eleven people in the country suffered dangerously low blood sugar this year, after getting injection of fake versions of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic.
Director for the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Rita Karam, said officials suspected the medicines were fake after knowing the doses were different from the standardized authentic Ozempic injector pens.
Fake Ozempic has already been reported in at least 17 countries, including the UK, Germany, Egypt and Russia. Health officials have issued several warnings to pharmacies and consumers to be vigilant about fake drug.
Karam said the ministry had started investigations into the 11 cases, but the source and batch numbers of the drugs had not been identified.
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She said that three of the people received the suspected fake Ozempic to control diabetes, while four took it for weight loss. While the other four injected the drug for an unspecified indication.
People with diabetes manage their blood sugar, with a variety of medicines including Ozempic.
When blood sugar, gets too low the person can suffer hypoglycemia. Its symptoms include headaches or dizziness and can progress to a loss of consciousness or seizures.
Novo Nordisk said it probes and reports every fake drug case it finds to local authorities, and it has created a guideline for health care providers to spot fake drugs.
As per data from the International Diabetes Federation almost 9 percent of adults in Lebanon were suffering from diabetes in 2021, compared to nearly 14 percent in the United States.
