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South African Pharmacy CouncilIn the news
Why is South Africa struggling to stop the sellers of illegal weight-loss injections — and how can consumers tell whether the medicines they're buying are safe? (Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels)
PUBLIC HEALTH

Black market weight-loss drug sellers are moving fast. SA’s regulators are struggling to keep up

As the demand for weight-loss injections surges, compounded copycats and unlicensed drugs like retatrutide are flooding South Africa's market. Regulators are racing to introduce…

  • Linda Nordling
7 min read
Drugs: Pharmaceutical Task Group has called for seizures, arrests and prosecutions,to deter sellers and protect confidence in the country’s medicines regulatory system.
PUBLIC HEALTH

Crackdown on illegal weight loss drugs

Pharmaceutical industry leaders and South African regulators have demanded urgent crackdowns, seizures, and arrests to curb the dangerous open sale of unregistered weight loss…

  • Hasina Kathrada
3 min read
South Africa’s first generic semaglutide injection launched in August — and Sahpra is considering 13 more applications. Photo: Haberdoedas Photography/Pexels 
PUBLIC HEALTH

The first generic weight loss drug hit SA in August — with many expected to follow. Will it be enough to kill the black market?

As patents expire, generic versions of blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic arrive in South Africa. But will price drops be enough to end the dangerous black…

  • Tanya Pampalone
  • Mia Malan
  • Anna-Maria van Niekerk
15 min read
The recall of iDexus has become the subject of legal proceedings, with the pharmaceutical company denying it posed a health risk.
HEALTH REGULATION

Regulators tighten noose on recalled GLP-1 medicines

South Africa's health regulators have warned doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals that they face disciplinary action for continuing to prescribe or dispense…

  • Hasina Kathrada
2 min read