Another case of acute liver damage in counterfeit peptide user

Doctors fear possible contaminated counterfeit peptide batch after seventh case of acute liver damage In short: There are fears a "contaminated batch" of counterfeit peptides is causing hospitalisations for acute liver toxicity. The latest patient became seriously unwell after taking unapproved peptide labelled as retatrutide. What's next? Doctors are testing the counterfeit peptides linked to the liver failure cases, amid warnings that unapproved products can cause serious harm. Another black market peptide user has suffered a severe liver injury, with doctors concerned a possible "contaminated batch" might be to blame. The latest case means seven Victorian patients have now been hospitalised for acute liver toxicity, after using a counterfeit of the weight loss peptide retatrutide. Liver transplant specialist Marie Sinclair, who has treated liver failure patients in Victoria, said another patient had recently become seriously unwell after taking an unapproved peptide labelled as retatrutide. "We have seen a recent case again, fairly similar to previous cases, where after a second dose of unregulated retatrutide there was severe liver injury," Dr Sinclair said. "It's uncertain as to why this has happened, but one possibility is that there could be a contaminated batch of [counterfeit] retatrutide that is in Victoria. "It's one possible explanation … we don't have any testing results to support that, it's purely a hypothesis at this stage." Dr Sinclair said she had commissioned testing of counterfeit peptides used by liver failure patients. "This is something I think we are going to continue to see with peptides if the unregulated market continues," she said. Dr Sinclair said the affected patients sustained liver injuries "within a few weeks" of taking the black market retatrutide. "They may become yellow or jaundiced, which is very frightening for patients, and they can become very unwell," she said. The Therapeutic Goods Administration's (TGA) chief medical advisor Robyn Langham told the ABC "the localised nature" of the liver issues in Victoria suggested "a batch problem". "We are seeing reports of acute liver failure which might be related to some batch issues certainly from Victoria," Professor Langham said. She said the cluster of liver harm cases did not appear to be happening elsewhere in Australia. Professor Langham warned consumers black market retatrutide was a "counterfeit product" and taking it was a risk. "The retatrutide that's being sold is not the retatrutide that's currently in clinical trials," she said. Professor Langham said her comments were not the result of an investigation. Peptides are small chains of amino acids which act as signalling agents in the body, telling it to carry out certain processes such as hormone release or tissue repair. There are regulated peptide medications including insulin and GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic. This year there has been a boom in social media promotion of counterfeit, unapproved peptides, which are not safe for human use. Victoria's health department has been contacted for comment. It previously warned products labelled "retatrutide" may contain contaminants that could have "toxic effects". The ABC contacted all other state and territory health departments to ask if there had been any cases of liver toxicity associated with unapproved peptide use. Canberra Health Services confirmed it had detected liver damage from products sold as retatrutide, but would not say how many "due to the low numbers involved". US-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is the sole owner of the patent for retatrutide and is currently running clinical trials. "Lilly continues to warn the public about the potential dangers of fake medicines," Manny Simons, general manager of Lilly Australia, said. "Any retatrutide available online is unapproved, unverified and simply not worth the risk." Adolescents 'injecting' counterfeit peptides Professor Langham said it was important to note there were no good batches or safe unapproved peptides — the risk of serious harm applied to all the products. "There are hospital admissions happening across the country because of the use of unapproved peptides," she said. "The risks are real, they are not theoretical." Professor Langham said the TGA was particularly worried about young people using unapproved peptides being promoted on social media. "What concerns us most is that adolescents, young children are buying these and injecting them into themselves, so goodness knows what is happening," she said. "[The counterfeit products] have not been tested in clinical trials, they have not been tested in terms of their manufacturing, and they've not been tested for their safety and people are injecting these into their body." The TGA said more than 94,500 unapproved peptide products had been destroyed this year, in collaboration with Australian Border Force. Last week, the TGA and New South Wales Police seized more than $120,000 of "illicit peptide and anabolic steroid products" from premises allegedly linked to a social media influencers. In April, authorities seized $2 million worth of steroids and peptides. [Image text:] RETATRUTIDE 10mg EARCH USEONL