June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly ( LLY )

said on Thursday it was suing six more entities including

medical spas and wellness centers for selling products claiming

to contain tirzepatide, the active ingredient in its popular

diabetes drug, Mounjaro.

Tirzepatide was approved late last year as Zepbound for

weight loss, and Lilly is the only company that has the approval

of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell the drug.

In its six separate lawsuits filed in the courts of

Ohio, Texas, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, Lilly has

alleged that these entities are falsely claiming that their

compounded versions of tirzepatide are approved by the FDA.

Lilly has warned that unsafe or untested compounded

tirzepatide puts patients at risk and said it was concerned

about the increasing number of online sales and posts on social

media involving counterfeit versions of its drug.

Demand has been outpacing supply for GLP-1 drugs, which

include Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound

and Mounjaro. Some doses of Mounjaro and Zepbound are expected

to be available in limited quantities through the second

quarter, according to the FDA.

Lilly and Danish rival Novo have sued several entities

to stop them from selling products claiming to contain the

active ingredients - tirzepatide and semaglutide - used in their

respective popular weight-loss drugs.

In May, the Indianapolis-based drugmaker entered into a

settlement deal with Totality Medispa, which was required to

make a monetary payment to Lilly and implement other corrective

measures.

Lilly has entered into similar settlements with other

med spas and wellness centers, which have falsely advertised

their products in the past, it said on Thursday.

The FDA has warned about the safety risks of using

compounded or custom-made versions of popular weight-loss drugs.

However, the agency's guidelines allow compounded drugs

to be made and distributed with fewer restrictions, under

certain circumstances, such as when the original drug appears on

its drug-shortage list.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva)