CAGW Joins Coalition Urging FDA to Stop Sale of Counterfeit Weight Loss Drugs
February 3, 2026
Marty Makary
Commissioner of Food and Drugs
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Dear Commissioner Makary,
Thank you for your ongoing work to ensure the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals for all Americans. We are grateful for your diligent enforcement of President Trump’s vision to bring as much pharmaceutical manufacturing as possible back to the United States—and to inspire the generation of innovative pharmaceutical research and development right here in America. The President’s recent deal with major pharmaceutical companies to bring back domestic drug production was encouraging and bodes well for America’s future.
Unfortunately, a hazardous trend has emerged that runs counter to the President’s vision. Deceitful actors, mostly foreign, have increasingly endangered consumers with counterfeit forms of the weight loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, and Wegovy (GLP-1 drugs). Often, the direct-to-consumer sales without a prescription include products that are either ineffective or affirmatively harmful. Some ingredients are even noted to be unsafe for human consumption.
Promoted through deceptive advertising practices, these non-FDA-approved drugs, often sourced from China and other unfriendly nations who don’t respect American intellectual property and wish harm on America, undermine public health and confidence in the integrity of the American medical system.
We are particularly concerned that Chinese manufacturers are exploiting the FDA’s “greenlist” and related import-screening practices to move compounded GLP-1 products into the United States under the guise of regulatory compliance. By positioning themselves as greenlisted suppliers, these entities can more easily ship active ingredients and finished compounded dosage forms that are neither FDA-approved nor subject to the same rigorous oversight as drugs manufactured in the United States. This trend risks turning a mechanism intended to facilitate safe and efficient trade into a backdoor for unsafe, unveiled GLP-1 compounds that directly compete with and undercut lawful American manufacturers, while exposing U.S. patients to serious harm.
At this time of year, with consumer demand for weight loss drugs spiking and advertising for these drugs skyrocketing, it is vital that the FDA take swift action to protect Americans. We the undersigned request immediate and detailed responses to at least the following questions, in addition to any other reassuring information the FDA would like to share with us:
- Does the FDA concur with the sentiments above that the trend on counterfeit, unregulated GLP-1 drugs merits emergency actions to protect public health?
- Does the FDA agree that the above GLP-1 situation runs counter to President Trump’s vision of increasing American manufacturing of pharmaceuticals?
- Does the FDA acknowledge that the above GLP-1 situation benefits adversaries like China at the expense of American citizens and American businesses?
- What is the timeline for FDA action to protect the supply of genuine American GLP-1 drugs and eliminate the supply of fake and harmful GLP-1 drugs?
- What are some examples of protective steps that the FDA could take or has already planned to take to reassure consumers and guard public health?
- With what federal, state, and private-sector partners does the FDA plan to collaborate on this effort? How?
Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. Please direct replies to Paul Teller at paul@tellerstrategies.com, who will share them with all of the participants in this important coalition. We look forward to your prompt reply.
Most Sincerely,
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
American Association of Senior Citizens
Diana Banister
President/CEO
SGS Advisors
Former Official at the Trump Department of Homeland Security
Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell
President
Council for National Policy
Morton Blackwell
Virginia Republican National Committeeman
Bob Borochoff
Former Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission CEO and Founder
The Borochoff Group
Bob Carlstrom
President
The Carlstrom Group
Larry Cirignano
President
Choose-Life.org
Deborah Collier
Executive Director, Innovation and Technology Policy Center
Citizens Against Government Waste
Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy
Trent England
Executive Director
Save Our States Action
Dan Faoro
President
National Center for Public Policy Research
Frank J. Gaffney
President
Institute for the American Future
Becky Gerritson
Executive Director
Eagle Forum of Alabama
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation
Beverly Gossage
President
HSA Benefits Consulting
Colin Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring
Tim Jones
Fmr. Speaker, Missouri House
Founder, Leadership for America Institute
Matthew Kandrach
President
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Gerard Kassar
State Chairman
New York State Conservative Party
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
Raul Lopez
Board Member
RX Border Defense
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
Gary Marx
Former Executive Director
Faith & Freedom Coalition
Thomas P. McDevitt
Chairman
The Washington Times & Taiwan Freedom Project
Annette Thompson Meeks
CEO
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Joseph R. Murray, Esquire
Founder
The Epidermolysis Bullosa Legal Aid Society
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Jennifer S. Nohelty
CEO
Washington Policy Institute
Melissa Ortiz
Founder and Principal
Capability Consulting
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Kevin Riffe
Chairman
West Virginia Center-Right Coalition
Pamela S. Roberts Albers
Immediate Past President
Kentucky Federation of Republican Women
Sal Russo
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist
Tea Party Express
Tom Schatz
President
Citizens Against Government Waste
John Shelton
Vice President of Policy
Advancing American Freedom
Michael Sobolik
Senior Fellow
Hudson Institute (Affiliation is included for name identification purposes only)
Stephen Stepanek
President
Pine Tree Public Policy Institute LLC
Paul Teller
President
Teller Strategies
Kerri Toloczko
Senior Fellow
Institute for Liberty
Kelly Victory, M.D.
President
Victory Health
Rebecca Weber
CEO
Association of Mature American Citizens
Allan F. Wright
Executive Director
New Jersey Family Policy Center
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