A Melbourne pharmacy has been raided as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal manufacture of weight loss medications. Meanwhile, the drug regulator says it wants to ban compounding pharmacists from making copycat versions of the drugs originally intended to treat type 2 diabetes.
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00:00 It's a shock move backed by doctors.
00:05 These rules are there to protect individuals, they're not there to be exploited by big business.
00:11 The TGA has written to doctors and pharmacy groups about its intention to crack down on
00:16 copycat versions of popular diabetes drugs.
00:19 We welcome the letter, however we just want to ensure that it doesn't ban compounding
00:25 outright.
00:27 When medications like Ozempic and Munjaro are in short supply, pharmacists can make
00:32 their own versions which aren't tested for safety or quality by the TGA.
00:38 But they have to be individualised for each patient with a script and can't be made in
00:42 bulk.
00:43 There are fears some are doing just that.
00:46 These drugs are known, we can't tell people whether they work and it's really the safety
00:51 aspect that concerns us most for the community.
00:54 It comes amid a Four Corners investigation.
00:57 Now the TGA wants to ban pharmacists from making GLP-1 agonist drugs like Ozempic.
01:03 All of those drugs will be removed from the compounding exemptions.
01:09 Consumer groups worry for diabetic patients.
01:11 We're really calling on the government to try and do more in this space to get a better
01:15 supply of Ozempic into Australia.
01:18 While they welcome the crackdown, pharmacists say the law is already adequate.
01:22 The TGA needs to play a more active role in oversight of these pharmacies that are manufacturing
01:29 in large quantities.
01:30 While the TGA waits for feedback on the proposed ban, the ABC understands there are a number
01:35 of ongoing state and federal investigations into compounding pharmacies.
01:40 As part of that, the agency raided a compounding pharmacy in Melbourne yesterday, seizing a
01:45 large amount of semaglutide, peptides and human growth hormones.
01:50 The TGA will allege they've been made illegally and say they hold serious safety concerns
01:55 about the medications.
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