Toxicologists warn over dangerous weight-loss drug spreading online

AMSTERDAM--Toxicologists in the Netherlands are raising concern over the spread of retatrutide, a powerful and unapproved injectable weight-loss drug being sold online and obtained through informal channels.

The drug, nicknamed “triple G”, has not been approved by European or United States regulators and cannot legally be prescribed. The national poisons centre, NVIC, which is part of UMC Utrecht, recorded its first six reports involving retatrutide in 2025, followed by another 12 cases in the first five months of 2026. All involved drugs obtained informally or bought online.

“Triple G is a powerful variant, and that worries us. If you use it without supervision, you can easily overdose,” ageing biologist Peter de Keizer of UMC Utrecht told broadcaster NOS.

The warning comes as reports of poisoning linked to injectable weight-loss drugs nearly doubled in the Netherlands last year. NVIC was consulted on about 149 cases involving the drugs in 2025, compared to 76 the year before, according to its annual review.

About half of the reports involved dosing mistakes, including cases where people injected a weekly dose every day. Another 40 percent involved people using the drugs without a prescription in an effort to lose weight.

Most reports concerned appetite-suppressing GLP-1 medicines sold under brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy. While regulated versions are known mainly to cause stomach and bowel complaints, NVIC warned that products bought online may be untested, impure and unpredictable.

Symptoms of poisoning are usually gastrointestinal, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and bowel complaints. In more serious cases, people who take too much can become severely dehydrated and require emergency care. Rare but serious complications can include acute pancreatitis or sudden vision loss. Prolonged use without lifestyle changes can also lead to loss of muscle mass.

The use of weight-loss injections has surged in the Netherlands, with around 80,000 people now taking them. Health experts say the growing demand has also created a market for illegal or unapproved products sold outside medical supervision.

NVIC head Dylan de Lange, an intensive-care toxicologist, told NOS that the acute and long-term risks linked to drugs ordered online are extensive.

“People really need to become more aware of this,” he said.

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