As demand for weight-loss drugs explodes, a dangerous shadow market of counterfeits, foreign generics, and underground peptides is quietly putting patients at risk. Big Pharma is fighting back. So far, with limited success.
The numbers are staggering. The global market for drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound was worth roughly $70 billion in 2025 and is projected by JP Morgan to exceed $200 billion by 2030. More than 40 percent of American adults are classified as obese. Roughly 30 million live with Type 2 diabetes. One in eight American adults has already used a GLP-1 drug, according to KFF.