What NAFDAC's Fake Ozempic Alerts Actually Said

Two NAFDAC public alerts define what Nigerian buyers are actually up against. Both are worth reading in full, and both are short. Here is what they said and what follows from it.

The 2023 alert: insulin in an Ozempic label

NAFDAC issued Public Alert 014/2023 on 2 May 2023 about one batch of falsified Ozempic circulating in Nigeria, marked batch number MP5B060. The pens were not weak or expired semaglutide. They were relabelled insulin pens containing insulin glulisine, a fast-acting insulin.

The alert also gave a physical tell. The falsified pens had a dosing scale running from 0 to 80 units that extended out of the pen as the dose was dialled. Genuine Novo Nordisk semaglutide pens use fixed dose settings in milligrams and do not behave that way.

The 2024 alert: counterfeits that pass inspection

Public Alert 01/2024 passed on a warning about falsified Ozempic 1 mg pens found at wholesalers in Europe and the UK. These fakes carried batch numbers, 2D barcodes and unique serial numbers copied from genuine packs, which made them very difficult to identify. The German medicines agency published images of the differences.

The alert noted there were no reports of patient harm in the EU or UK, and that the affected pens were accounted for through recalls. The background was a global shortage of semaglutide, which is precisely the condition counterfeiters exploit.

What both alerts imply for Nigeria

• Shortage plus demand equals fakes. Tirzepatide and semaglutide have been in short supply globally since 2023, and Nigerian demand has risen throughout.
• Visual checks help, but have limits. The 2023 fakes were catchable by eye. The 2024 fakes were not.
• Registration cannot be your check. Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro do not appear on NAFDAC's register of approved products, so no pen sold here carries a Nigerian registration number to verify.
• Provenance is the real safeguard. Who held it, how it was stored, and who answers if something is wrong.

How to report a suspicious pen

1. Do not inject it, and do not throw it away.
2. Photograph the carton, the pen label and the batch number.
3. Call NAFDAC on 0800-162-3322 or email sf.alert@nafdac.gov.ng.
4. Tell the seller the same day.
5. If you already injected it and feel unwell, seek medical attention and take the pen with you.

The practical reading

These alerts are not a reason to panic, and they are not a reason to assume everything on the market is fake. They are a reason to care about where a pen came from, to do the physical checks that catch crude fakes, and to be suspicious of prices that make no commercial sense.