Sept 3 (Reuters) - The European Union's medicines

regulator said on Wednesday there has been a surge in illegal

medicines marketed as weight-loss and diabetes medicines online

in recent months across the region, and warned about a serious

risk to public health.

Global shortages of these drugs have fueled demand for

compounded versions, particularly in the United States. There

has also been a spurt in counterfeit products marketed as Novo

Nordisk's Ozempic or Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro.

"Authorities have identified hundreds of fake Facebook

profiles, advertisements and e-commerce listings, many of which

are hosted outside the EU," the European Medicines Agency said.

"Some fraudulent websites and social media

advertisements misuse official logos and use false endorsements

to mislead consumers."

EU law prohibits large-scale compounding of approved

drugs, except in rare circumstances.

These unauthorized products may not contain the claimed

active substance at all and may contain harmful levels of other

substances, the EMA added. People who use these products are at

a very high risk of treatment failure, serious health problems

and dangerous interactions with other medicines, it added.

Novo Nordisk sells semaglutide as Ozempic for diabetes and

Wegovy for weight loss, while Lilly sells tirzepatide as

Mounjaro in the EU for both conditions.

In 2023, EMA had warned the public about pre-filled pens

falsely labeled as Ozempic, which is also used "off-label" for

weight loss.

Both Novo and Lilly have filed dozens of lawsuits in the

U.S. against telehealth firms, compounding pharmacies and

medical spas for selling unapproved knockoff versions of their

drugs.