A production line of Wegovy injection pens for the Asian market at the Novo Nordisk A/S pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Hillerod, Denmark, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.
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One interpretation of the law of supply and demand is that when demand outstrips supply, scammers get busy. That’s certainly the case with the super-popular weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
As millions of Americans are prescribed injectable Ozempic and Mounjaro to treat type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy and Zepbound for obesity — and countless more without prescriptions seek them as “vanity drugs” to shed unwanted pounds — the manufacturers can’t keep up production. The GLP-1s, as they’re known, are pricey, too, and insurance often doesn’t cover them, provided consumers can find them.
That confluence of factors has laid the groundwork not only for a confusing online marketplace for compounded versions of the drugs — allowed by the Food and Drug Administration when proprietary ingredients are determined to be in short supply — but a proliferation of nefarious scams offering to sell both brand-name and counterfeit GLP-1s on websites and social media platforms.
Consumers have received Lilly- and Novo-branded GLP-1s from unauthorized sellers, counterfeit versions, completely different medications or nothing at all — other than an expensive rip-off. Most disturbing, Novo told CNBC that as of mid-November, it is aware of 14 deaths and 144 hospitalizations of people who had taken compounded semaglutide, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. It recently asked the FDA to ban the copycat drugs.
Within the past year, cybersecurity experts, consumer advocates, pharma researchers and media investigators have uncovered scores of accounts and content on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms, as well as numerous websites, where bad actors have been doing business, much of it illegal or at least unethical.
In May, a joint investigation by the nonprofits Digital Citizens Alliance and Coalition for a Safer Web revealed how consumers are flocking to TikTok — which faces an uncertain future after a federal court on Friday upheld a law that would seek to ban the company in the U.S. on Jan. 19 — and other social media platforms and websites to purchase branded and illicit GLP-1s, often without a prescription. According to the report, scammers create accounts promising to sell the drugs for between $200 and $400 for a month’s supply — far below market prices — paid through Zelle, Venmo and PayPal rather than traditional credit cards so as to avoid tracking.
“Scammers take advantage of human emotion and human want, and the emotion and want now is that everybody wants to lose weight,” said Eric Feinberg, vice president of content moderation for the Coalition for a Safer Web. “It’s a perfect audience to use online to take advantage of people psychologically and emotionally.”
A common ruse the investigation exposed was sellers saying the drugs were coming from overseas and then claiming that the order was held up in customs, requiring an additional $300 to $500 payment to release it. The scammers were devious, said Tom Galvin, executive director of Digital Citizens Alliance. “They send a tracking number from a delivery service that shows you where your package is, but the tracking number is BS.” Digital Citizens shelled out just over $3,000 to purchase GLP-1s, and yet the money yielded no deliveries of the drugs.
No-delivery ploys can exact a serious financial toll on victims, but “the more scary ones are where you do get a product and don’t even know whether you can trust [it] or if it’s a valid company,” said Abhishek Karnik, director for threat research and response for cybersecurity firm McAfee.
Phishing for weight-loss drug victims
Tracking activity over the first four months of this year, McAfee’s Threat Research Team uncovered just how prolific weight-loss scams have become across malicious websites, scam emails and texts, posts on social media and online marketplace listings. From January through April, McAfee researchers discovered 449 risky website URLs and 176,871 dangerous phishing attempts centered around Ozempic, Wegovy and semaglutide, an increase of 183% compared to October through December 2023.
Karnik’s team has continued to monitor these criminal activities. “We’ve identified [a total of] 367,000-plus phishing attempts, and between May and August, the number of [risky] URLs we found increased by 135%,” he said.
JAMA Network Open in August published the results of a study by an international group of researchers who searched the global internet to ferret out websites for online pharmacies advertising semaglutide for sale. Among the 317 operations found, more than 42% were illegal, operating without a valid license, selling medications without prescriptions and shipping unregistered and falsified products. Six purchases were made, but only three were delivered.
A recent CNBC investigation explored the murky international world of counterfeit weight-loss drugs. Among its findings, investigators recounted the seizure in the UK last year of hundreds of what appeared to be Ozempic pens, but were in fact insulin pens relabeled as Ozempic. They also discovered from Lilly that its retatrutide, a novel GLP-1 drug still in clinical trials and not FDA-approved, was being marketed to the public.
Counterfeits and diverted drugs — branded GLP-1s sold on the black market — originate from many countries, including India, China, the UK, Mexico and Turkey. One of the destinations where they make their way to the U.S. was New York’s JFK International Airport. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, since January 1, the agency had made more than 198 seizures of products labeled as Ozempic.
In response to this glut of fraudulent activity, social media companies and web operators have employed human monitors and machine technology to identify and shut down online scammers. A TikTok spokesperson, without detailing its various monitoring efforts, referred to the company’s community guidelines. “We strictly prohibit the trade of drugs, and we do not allow attempts to defraud or scam members of our community,” the spokesperson said. “Our advertising policies also prohibit the advertising of weight-loss products, including weight-loss injections and fat-burning pills.”
Despite official policies, however, undeterred violators find workarounds when their accounts are shuttered. They might set up another account with the drug names misspelled, spaces between letters or mash-ups of semaglutide and terzepitide. Many instruct interested buyers to direct message them or send links to Telegram and other dark websites that encrypt content and provide anonymity.
“The social media platforms are the new street corners for drug dealers, and they move from place to place,” Galvin said. “It’s a game of whack-a-mole.”
Bags of counterfeit Novo Nordisk A/S Ozempic and Wegovy, foreground, and other fake drugs at a warehouse operated by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in London, UK, on Monday, Feb. 27, 2024. The UK task force tracks down illegal websites, monitors social media and even carries out raids to stamp out sales of fake “skinny jabs” as both organized crime and unscrupulous lone entrepreneurs look to capitalize on the weight-loss frenzy.
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For this article, CNBC found more than a dozen TikTok accounts that appeared to be selling GLP-1s in violation of its policies, including @ozempic_weightloss, @sema.irel and @semaglutideandtr. Soon after relaying the information to TikTok, we were told that all had been removed, except one, which was not in violation.
The widespread compounding of GLP-1s is another contributor to the dodgy marketplace for the drugs. In April and December of 2022, respectively, the FDA determined that semaglutide and tirzepatide were in short supply, opening the floodgates for compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities to manufacture, distribute and market copies, typically sold through telehealth companies, medical spas and wellness centers.
Compounded GLP-1s, unlike Lilly’s and Novo’s brands, are not FDA-approved, which means they do not undergo the agency’s review for safety, effectiveness and quality before they’re marketed. Instead, the FDA and state boards of pharmacy register, license and inspect compounding facilities and ingredients. And while some compounders meet regulatory requirements, such as Henry Meds, Noom Med, Ro and Hims & Hers Health, many others don’t.
Publicly traded Hims & Hers launched its gender-focused telehealth platform in 2017, adding compounded semaglutide to its weight-loss program this past May. “We waited until we were able to find the right compounding partner,” said Dr. Patrick Carroll, the company’s chief medial officer. Besides that partner, BPI Labs, Hims & Hers acquired another, MetasourceRx, in September. The company also sells branded Ozempic and next year will offer liraglutide, the first generic GLP-1.
FDA scrutiny
In the meantime, the FDA is investigating the bad actors in the compounding world. “Purchasing prescription drugs from unregulated, unlicensed sources without a prescription is risky,” a spokesperson for the agency told CNBC. “We urge consumers to be vigilant and to utilize tips tools from the FDA’s BeSafeRx campaign to help them safely buy drugs online.”
In May, the KFF Health Tracking Poll found that about one in eight adults (12%) said they had taken a GLP-1 drug, with about half, or 21 million, actively using the medications. Nearly 80% purchased the drugs or a prescription for them — at a cost between $936 to $1,349 per month before insurance coverage, rebates or coupons — from a primary care doctor or a specialist, according to the survey. Fewer reported getting them from an online provider or website (11%), a medical spa or aesthetic medical center (10%), or from somewhere else (2%). But that doesn’t count the inestimable number of individuals who have obtained GLP-1s without prescriptions through unregulated online channels and illicit online compounding pharmacies, many operating overseas.
While social media companies police illegal sellers of GLP-1s, hundreds of influencers are touting the drugs and their journeys using them across the platforms with impunity, according to a Fast Company report. Many influencers are recruited and paid by telehealth companies.
Meanwhile, household names have been increasingly speaking out about their personal use of these drugs, which increases familiarity and curiosity among the public.In October, People profiled 64 celebrities — including Kathy Bates, Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, Andy Cohen, Billie Jean King and Rob Lowe — who have talked about their weight-loss drug experiences, mostly on social media.
Currently, Lilly’s and Novo’s GLP-1s are prescribed only for type 2 diabetes and obesity. But as researchers find additional conditions that can be treated with the drugs — including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, dementia and addiction, and most recently even knee pain — prescriptions will increase exponentially.
In September, an article in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy warned against manufacturers that use a legal loophole to sell vials containing semaglutide and tirzepatide to consumers without a prescription by stating that the drugs are for “research purposes only” and/or “not for human consumption.” The authors conducted an internet search for such scofflaws, uncovering 40 websites selling what were labeled as “peptides” to consumers.
The FDA has sent warning letters to a handful, including Miami-based US Chem Labs in February, citing several violations and requesting action within 15 days. As of Dec. 6, CNBC found that the company still listed compounded semaglutide as available on its website. US Chem Labs could not be reached by phone and an email request for comment was not returned by press time.
The authors of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy article also identified three companies that were advertising GLP-1s on Facebook, owned by Meta. “Our policies prohibit content that defrauds people by promoting false or misleading health claims, including those related to weight loss, and we remove this kind of content when we become aware of it,” a Meta spokesperson told CNBC. CNBC subsequently sent Meta the names of the three companies, and several days later their Facebook pages were removed.
Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk battle with copycat drugs
Workers walk past manufacturing equipment at Eli Lilly & Co. manufacturing plant in Kinsale, Ireland, on Sept. 12, 2024. Lilly has been bulking up its production capacity since 2020, investing more than $17 billion into developing new plants and expanding existing facilities for the weight-loss and diabetes drugs that are expected to become some of the best-selling medicines of all time.
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Lilly and Novo are in a quandary regarding compounders. The copycats have filled a void while the branded GLP-1s are in shortage, attracting patients who can’t access or afford them.
But now the manufacturers want their domains to themselves. Lilly has sent cease-and-desist letters to numerous compounding sellers, and both companies have filed lawsuits against numerous compounding pharmacies, alleging trademark infringement and deceptive marketing.
On October 2, the FDA declared that Lilly’s tirzepatide was no longer in short supply, ostensibly putting compounders of that ingredient out of business. Two weeks later, though, after a public outcry from compounders’ patients and a federal lawsuit brought by compounding pharmacies, the FDA backtracked, saying it would reevaluate whether the drug is available and make a decision in mid-November.
Yet, on November 22, the FDA said it was still assessing the situation and agreed to not take action against compounders of tirzepatide until December 19, unless the agency makes an earlier decision.
Novo’s semaglutide is still listed as “currently in shortage” by the FDA, although the agency also lists Ozempic and Wegovy as “available.” A Novo Nordisk spokesperson told CNBC, “It’s important to note that availability doesn’t always mean immediate accessibility at every pharmacy. Patients may experience variability at specific locations, regardless of whether a drug is in shortage.”
Lilly and Novo have advocated for broadening insurance coverage for the drugs, and the Biden administration recently proposed that Medicare and Medicaid extend their coverage for obesity medications. Although that plan could be scuttled by the incoming Trump administration. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, has suggested that obesity should be tackled through healthy eating, not drugs.
The obesity drug market volatility has shown up in recent earnings. In its third-quarter report on October 30, Lilly fell short of profit and revenue expectations, partly due to disappointing sales of its GLP-1s, even as demand for them continued to soar. A week later, Novo reported third-quarter earnings in line with expectations, strengthened by robust sales of Ozempic and Wegovy. Nonetheless, the Danish company narrowed its 2024 full-year growth guidance, reflecting, according to a statement from the company, “expected continued periodic supply constraints and related drug shortage notifications.”
Regardless, demand for GLP-1s — no matter if they’re branded, compounded or counterfeit or where they’re purchased from — is certain to keep growing. That will put more pressure on social media platforms and web operators to guard against scams.
Galvin suggested that the companies need to work together to identify scammers as they navigate between platforms to avoid detection. “Too many platforms look at this as a PR problem and not an internet safety problem,” he said. “If they were collaborating with each other to identify the bad actors and shared that information, people would find a lot less of them.”
TikTok’s grip on the short-form video market is tightening, and the world’s biggest tech platforms are racing to catch up.
Since launching globally in 2016, ByteDance-owned TikTok has amassed over 1.12 billion monthly active users worldwide, according to Backlinko. American users spend an average of 108 minutes per day on the app, according to Apptoptia.
TikTok’s success has reshaped the social media landscape, forcing competitors like Meta and Google to pivot their strategies around short-form video. But so far, experts say that none have matched TikTok’s algorithmic precision.
“It is the center of the internet for young people,” said Jasmine Enberg, vice president and principal analyst at Emarketer. “It’s where they go for entertainment, news, trends, even shopping. TikTok sets the tone for everyone else.”
Platforms like Meta‘s Instagram Reels and Google’s YouTube Shorts have expanded aggressively, launching new features, creator tools and even considering separate apps just to compete. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, traditionally a professional networking site, is the latest to experiment with TikTok-style feeds. But with TikTok continuing to evolve, adding features like e-commerce integrations and longer videos, the question remains whether rivals can keep up.
“I’m scrolling every single day. I doom scroll all the time,” said TikTok content creator Alyssa McKay.
But there may a dark side to this growth.
As short-form content consumption soars, experts warn about shrinking attention spans and rising mental-health concerns, particularly among younger users. Researchers like Dr. Yann Poncin, associate professor at the Child Study Center at Yale University, point to disrupted sleep patterns and increased anxiety levels tied to endless scrolling habits.
“Infinite scrolling and short-form video are designed to capture your attention in short bursts,” Dr. Poncin said. “In the past, entertainment was about taking you on a journey through a show or story. Now, it’s about locking you in for just a few seconds, just enough to feed you the next thing the algorithm knows you’ll like.”
Despite sky-high engagement, monetizing short videos remains an uphill battle. Unlike long-form YouTube content, where ads can be inserted throughout, short clips offer limited space for advertisers. Creators, too, are feeling the squeeze.
“It’s never been easier to go viral,” said Enberg. “But it’s never been harder to turn that virality into a sustainable business.”
Last year, TikTok generated an estimated $23.6 billion in ad revenues, according to Oberlo, but even with this growth, many creators still make just a few dollars per million views. YouTube Shorts pays roughly four cents per 1,000 views, which is less than its long-form counterpart. Meanwhile, Instagram has leaned into brand partnerships and emerging tools like “Trial Reels,” which allow creators to experiment with content by initially sharing videos only with non-followers, giving them a low-risk way to test new formats or ideas before deciding whether to share with their full audience. But Meta told CNBC that monetizing Reels remains a work in progress.
While lawmakers scrutinize TikTok’s Chinese ownership and explore potential bans, competitors see a window of opportunity. Meta and YouTube are poised to capture up to 50% of reallocated ad dollars if TikTok faces restrictions in the U.S., according to eMarketer.
Watch the video to understand how TikTok’s rise sparked a short form video race.
The X logo appears on a phone, and the xAI logo is displayed on a laptop in Krakow, Poland, on April 1, 2025. (Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Elon Musk‘s xAI Holdings is in discussions with investors to raise about $20 billion, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The funding would value the company at over $120 billion, according to the report.
Musk was looking to assign “proper value” to xAI, sources told CNBC’s David Faber earlier this month. The remarks were made during a call with xAI investors, sources familiar with the matter told Faber. The Tesla CEO at that time didn’t explicitly mention any upcoming funding round, but the sources suggested xAI was preparing for a substantial capital raise in the near future.
The funding amount could be more than $20 billion as the exact figure had not been decided, the Bloomberg report added.
Artificial intelligence startup xAI didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment outside of U.S. business hours.
The AI firm last month acquired X in an all-stock deal that valued xAI at $80 billion and the social media platform at $33 billion.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent,” Musk said on X, announcing the deal. “This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during the Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, on May 10, 2023.
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Alphabet‘s stock gained 3% Friday after signaling strong growth in its search and advertising businesses amid a competitive artificial intelligence environment and uncertain macro backdrop.
“GOOGL‘s pace of GenAI product roll-out is accelerating with multiple encouraging signals,” wrote Morgan Stanley‘s Brian Nowak. “Macro uncertainty still exists but we remain [overweight] given GOOGL’s still strong relative position and improving pace of GenAI enabled product roll-out.”
The search giant posted earnings of $2.81 per share on $90.23 billion in revenues. That topped the $89.12 billion in sales and $2.01 in EPS expected by LSEG analysts. Revenues grew 12% year-over-year and ahead of the 10% anticipated by Wall Street.
Net income rose 46% to $34.54 billion, or $2.81 per share. That’s up from $23.66 billion, or $1.89 per share, in the year-ago period. Alphabet said the figure included $8 billion in unrealized gains on its nonmarketable equity securities connected to its investment in a private company.
Adjusted earnings, excluding that gain, were $2.27 per share, according to LSEG, and topped analyst expectations.
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Alphabet shares have pulled back about 16% this year as it battles volatility spurred by mounting trade war fears and worries that President Donald Trump‘s tariffs could crush the global economy. That would make it more difficult for Alphabet to potentially acquire infrastructure for data centers powering AI models as it faces off against competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic to develop largely language models.
During Thursday’s call with investors, Alphabet suggested that it’s too soon to tally the total impact of tariffs. However, Google’s business chief Philipp Schindler said that ending the de minimis trade exemption in May, which created a loophole benefitting many Chinese e-commerce retailers, could create a “slight headwind” for the company’s ads business, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region. The loophole allows shipments under $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free.
Despite this backdrop, Alphabet showed steady growth in its advertising and search business, reporting $66.89 billion in revenues for its advertising unit. That reflected 8.5% growth from the year-ago period. The company reported $8.93 billion in advertising revenue for its YouTube business, shy of an $8.97 billion estimate from StreetAccount.
Alphabet’s “Search and other” unit rose 9.8% to $50.7 billion, up from $46.16 billion last year. The company said that its AI Overviews tool used in its Google search results page has accumulated 1.5 billion monthly users from a billion in October.
Bank of America analyst Justin Post said that Wall Street is underestimating the upside potential and “monetization ramp” from this tool and cloud demand fueled by AI.
“The strong 1Q search performance, along with constructive comments on Gemini [large language model] performance and [AI Overviews] adoption could help alleviate some investor concerns on AI competition,” Post wrote in a note.