12 Nov SAHPRA warns the general public about GLP-1 merchandise offered by way of social media platforms
Pretoria, 11 November 2025 – The South African Well being Merchandise Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) cautions members of the general public towards buying or utilizing GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) merchandise which can be being promoted and offered on numerous social media platforms. These merchandise are being promoted to help with weight reduction.
SAHPRA has change into conscious of firms and people illegally advertising GLP-1 merchandise on-line and falsely claiming to be affiliated with or authorised by SAHPRA and a few of South Africa’s main retail pharmacies. The Authority needs to make clear that these claims are unfaithful.
SAHPRA, by way of its investigation, has found that the sellers of those merchandise should not based mostly in South Africa. The merchandise are being shipped from China through submit places of work, not from a warehouse in Johannesburg or Cape City, as said within the ads. The shipped merchandise should not similar to the marketed merchandise. SAHPRA has not accredited any oral GLP-1 resolution for consumption.
An image of those merchandise, displaying SAHPRA’s emblem and claiming to be accredited by SAHPRA, might be seen under.
SAHPRA urges the general public to train warning when they’re shopping for medicines on-line, from unknown web sites or social media pages, as these medicines could comprise harmful/dangerous elements which may not be disclosed to the sufferers by the vendor. Sufferers ought to solely purchase prescribed medicines from licensed and respected pharmacies. A listing of medicines registered in South Africa might be discovered on the SAHPRA web site.
SAHPRA additional warns that the unauthorised promoting, distribution, or promoting of medicines not registered with SAHPRA is a violation of the Medicines and Associated Substances Act, 1965 (Act 101 of 1965), as amended. The Authority shall take all the required regulatory and authorized motion towards any particular person or organisation discovered participating in such practices.
Members of the general public are urged to report any suspicious medication gross sales or false claims of SAHPRA approval. You possibly can report by way of these whistleblower platforms, SAHPRA’s 24-hour hotline (0800 204 307) or through our internet reporting facility: https://bit.ly/3nrku5t
“Safeguarding the well-being of the South African public stays a major concern for the regulatory authority. SAHPRA is monitoring the provision chain in addition to the web platforms for unregistered, substandard, and falsified medicines containing or claiming to comprise GLP-1 Substances,” indicated SAHPRA CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela.
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