2026 regional alerts: fake GLP-1s, GHK-Cu and Dysport

Four countries, one pattern

Between February and July 2026, four regulators in the region issued alerts that, read together, describe the same chain: an unregistered product, sales through social media or digital platforms, and contents that don't match the label. Mexico found semaglutide inside a supposed tirzepatide⁴. Colombia found a cosmetic peptide sold as a weight-loss injectable¹. Brazil measured how much raw material came in for compounding⁷. Argentina detected counterfeit botulinum toxin, and Panama reposted that alert⁹¹⁰. This article summarizes what each official document says; counterfeit Ozempic and Mounjaro in Panama are covered separately.

Mexico: the "tirzepatide" that was semaglutide

On February 9, 2026, COFEPRIS issued an alert on the illegal sale of tirzepatide products from the brands Rapha, Dr. Pen and Peptide Xperts, based on information submitted by the importer Eli Lilly y Compañía de México⁴. The most serious finding concerns a 20 mg tirzepatide cartridge for an injection pen: the pen had been relabeled as Dr. Pen under a cancelled sanitary registration, and Lilly confirmed that the cartridge claimed to contain tirzepatide but "after the corresponding analysis, the presence of semaglutide was detected, as well as bacterial growth"⁴.

Rapha Pharmaceuticals' prefilled pen and Peptide Xperts' "TIRZEPATIDA (+B12)" vial have no registration in Mexico⁴. The alert adds that Lilly found tirzepatide sold as drops, patches, vials and prefilled syringes, and that COFEPRIS received notices from Colombia and Argentina about the Peptide Xperts product and about "TIRZEC®5" from Quimfa S.A.⁴. Lilly said it is the "only legal supplier with a sanitary registration to market tirzepatide in Mexico"⁶. On March 11, Mexico's consumer protection agency Profeco recirculated the alert⁵.

Colombia: a skin peptide sold for weight loss

On June 19, 2026, INVIMA published Health Alert 181-2026 on five products promoted for weight control through the Instagram account @weightlosscol and WhatsApp: "Tirzepatide injection 10 mg", "Retatrutide 10 mg/mL", "GHK-Cu peptide solution", "LIPO-C + B12" and "NAD+ 10 mg/mL"¹. None has a sanitary registration; INVIMA classifies them as fraudulent and says they do not comply with Decree 677 of 1995, so their quality, safety and efficacy have not been evaluated¹.

For aesthetic physicians, the striking item is GHK-Cu. The copper tripeptide has been studied mainly in skin regeneration, wound healing and hair¹⁷; here it showed up in an injectable weight-loss lineup¹. It is an example of a familiar dermatology name being recycled into another market. The alert asks health professionals to tell patients to stop these products, explain the risks and notify INVIMA of the purchase, including the channel and address the patient reports¹.

According to Infobae, the adverse events INVIMA received after use of peptides promoted for weight loss include persistent dizziness, presyncope episodes, menstrual cycle changes, weight gain and lipid profile changes²; the article gives no number of reports and does not tie them to a specific product. Two days earlier, alert 180-2026 had warned about "retratutida" sold on Instagram and WhatsApp³.

Brazil: raw material for 20 million doses

On April 6, 2026, Anvisa announced new measures against irregular import and compounding of so-called weight-loss pens⁷. The figures: in the second half of 2025, more than 100 kg of raw material was imported to compound pens, enough for about 20 million doses; in 2026 the agency carried out 11 inspections of compounding pharmacies and importers, which led to 8 interdictions for technical problems and lack of quality control; and since January it has issued 10 bans on irregular products containing GLP-1 agonists such as semaglutide and tirzepatide⁷.

Among the measures, Anvisa announced a review of RDC 67/2007 (good compounding practices) and of Technical Note 200/2025 on importing GLP-1 raw materials, suspension of pharmacies at risk, and active surveillance for adverse events in emergency departments, hospitals and clinics⁷. Back in August 2025 the agency had banned compounding of synthetic semaglutide, but not tirzepatide; the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism asked for the restriction to be extended because, in its view, the risks are "identical and equally serious"⁸.

Argentina and Panama: counterfeit Dysport

Through Disposition 4394/2026, published July 20, 2026, ANMAT banned nationwide the use, sale and distribution of "Dysport 500 IPSEN, lot P22179, exp. 12/2028" as a counterfeit product⁹. It was detected by Galderma Argentina, the registration holder: the label and carton were in English, without the holder's logo, and the lot number does not match any valid manufacturing lot⁹. Panama's DNFD had already reposted the alert on June 10, 2026 (notice 013-DNFD-2026), warning that, as an injectable of unknown origin and composition, its use poses "a high risk to patients' health"¹⁰.

It wasn't the first Dysport warning. In September 2025 the DNFD reposted a COFEPRIS update with two more counterfeit lots (U18547 and P08190), with English-language labeling and lot numbers that did not match those imported into Mexico; lot P08190 was found for sale on social media¹¹. The same notice states that Panama does have active registrations for Dysport 500 U and 300 U¹¹. In other words, the legitimate product exists in the country; what gets counterfeited is the lot.

What did Panama repost?

The DNFD routinely recirculates other regulators' alerts. In the DNFD's public list of notices from September 2025 to September 2026, the only GLP-1 alert we found is notice 026-DNFD-2025 (October 17, 2025), which reposted INVIMA's alert on Peptide Xperts' "Tirzepatida (GLP-1/GIP) + B12" and noted it is not registered in Panama¹²¹³. There is no repost of INVIMA alert 181-2026 or of COFEPRIS's tirzepatide alert¹³. In February 2026 the DNFD did repost other COFEPRIS alerts (Entresto, Testoviron Depot, Tafinlar, Ruxience, Neulasta, among others), without the tirzepatide one¹⁴. Separately, in August 2026 MINSA warned about counterfeit Mounjaro, lot D881474, based on a notice from Anvisa²¹.

What to do in the clinic

• Check the sanitary registration in the DNFD's search tool (sisregsan.minsa.gob.pa), as the DNFD itself recommends in every notice¹⁰¹⁴.
• Buy only from distributors authorized by the registration holder and, if the paperwork is in doubt, contact the holder¹⁰¹⁴.
• Check lot and labeling: in the 2025 and 2026 cases the red flags were labeling in another language, a missing holder logo, lots the manufacturer doesn't recognize and serial numbers that don't match⁹¹¹²¹.
• Ask patients whether they use products bought on social media; INVIMA asks professionals to tell patients to stop, explain the risks and report the purchase channel¹.
• Report sales of flagged products to 501-0306 or ceipffis@minsa.gob.pa, the channels the DNFD lists¹⁴.
• Report suspected adverse reactions through Noti-FACEDRA and therapeutic failures through the FADDI platform; the National Pharmacovigilance Center's email is fvigilancia@minsa.gob.pa¹⁵¹⁶.