By Dean Seal

Eli Lilly is stepping up its campaign against fake and counterfeit weight-loss drugs with more lawsuits against sellers of unapproved products that market themselves as Mounjaro and Zepbound.

The pharmaceutical company said Thursday that it has filed legal actions against med-spas, wellness centers and other entities that sell products purportedly containing tirzepatide, the antidiabetic medication Eli Lilly sells under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Eli Lilly claims the defendants are falsely labeling these products as Mounjaro and Zepbound, or as being the same as those drugs, or as being part of Eli Lilly's clinical trials, or as being approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The suits follow a similar spate of actions the company filed last fall. Eli Lilly reached a settlement deal last month with Totality Medispa for allegedly telling customers that it was selling FDA-approved Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-20-24 1124ET