00:00The pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is close to launching the strongest weight loss drug ever.
00:06And yet, years before it's approved, Jimbros are already buying retitrutide on the grey market to
00:12shred fat. Retitrutide is a GLP-1 in the same family as Ozempic and Manjaro. It's unique because
00:20it targets three hunger hormones, GLP, GIP and glucagon, whereas the other drugs on the market
00:27only target one or two. In theory, that means more staggering weight loss. Eli Lilly hasn't finished
00:34clinical trials on retitrutide and it isn't approved by the US Food and Drug Administration,
00:39so doctors can't prescribe it and pharmacies can't sell it. But over the past year, retitrutide has
00:45been gaining traction on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, particularly among fitness circles.
00:53People trying to cut fat while building muscle are buying powder labelled ret or retta from
01:00online research labs, which are legally allowed to manufacture compounds like this for research
01:07only. At home, people mix this powder with water, often using chat GPT to work out the ratio and then
01:14inject it into their muscles. We spoke to fans of grey market retta who post eye-popping photos on
01:21social media as proof that it works. They claim that the injectable they're taking helps them to
01:26shred fat without the muscle wasting that many people experience on Ozempic, Wigovi, Manjaro and
01:32Zetbound. While there is some evidence that Eli Lilly's retitrutide may have fewer side effects than
01:38other GLP-1s, buying an unregulated knockoff has serious risks. There's a risk of contamination
01:45and bacterial infection when you're buying a powder from an online research lab that is not subject to
01:51regulations. There's also a risk of contaminating the substance yourself when you're mixing it up
01:57at home. Plus, tests show that dosing varies widely across these powders, even when they're listed
02:03with the same dose. Is this legal? It's complicated. All of these powders are sold with the caveat that they
02:10are not for human consumption. Research labs are not legally allowed to sell medication for people
02:17to consume, but that does make it hard to regulate. A Brookings report earlier this year found that the
02:23majority of counterfeit GLP-1s come from wholesale manufacturers in China, which exist outside of US
02:29oversight. Eli Lilly told Business Insider in a statement that anyone purporting to sell retitrutide
02:35for human use is breaking the law. The company added, no one should consider taking anything
02:41claiming to be retitrutide outside of a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial. Still, the trend persists.
02:48Creators make new profiles, labs fly under the radar. It looks like this is not going away.
02:53For more on this trend, head to businessinsider.com.
Comments