Illegal peptide vendors sell weight-loss dream

A growing number of people in Malta are turning to unregulated injectable peptides to lose weight fast, leading to a boom in illegal sales.

And in a country plagued by obesity, sellers on social media are unashamedly marketing them as miracle drugs.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that form proteins. Some peptides are naturally occurring, while others are used for a wide range of purposes. Ozempic is arguably the most famous peptide, although this is a brand name.

The most glaring difference between Ozempic and the many weight-loss peptides that have flooded the grey market is the fact that the former is regulated by national health authorities and can be bought by doctor’s prescription. The rest are peddled online by obscure sellers with no medical background.

A TikTok search for peptides will soon flood your feed with sellers and plenty of messages from satisfied customers boasting about how much weight they’ve lost.

Some vendors claim to sell peptides for research purposes only, but post customer reviews and claimed benefits of using peptides.

MaltaToday called some of the sellers illegally advertising their products on TikTok. One seller offered to sell us 30mg of Reta for €150, 40mg for €180, or 50mg for €200. Without knowing anything about the person on the other side of the phone call, the seller recommended a 30mg vial.

Another seller went on a rant about how his peptide is much more potent than anything else he tried in the past. He explained that he used to eat an entire pizza by himself and his wife used to eat three-quarters. “Now we can’t even finish one pizza between us,” he exclaimed.

This seller admitted, however, that such peptides are not lab-approved. Still, he recommended a dosage, warning not to go over the recommended dose. When asked where he sources his products, he simply replied “Germany”.

The most common weight-loss peptide on the grey market seems to be Retatrutide, or Reta for short. Last June, the Superintendence of Public Health and the Malta Medicines Authority warned that products containing Retatrutide are being sold through unauthorised and unverified sources, predominantly on social media. The authorities said this medication is not approved for public use.

Retatrutide was among the items seized in a police raid last week

In August, police arrested four people following raids, which netted thousands of euros in cash, steroids, and illicit peptide vials. 

One of the peptide vendors deleted his TikTok page soon after the arrests. He told an interested customer he had no idea selling these products is illegal.

Kirill Micallef Stafrace, a sports and exercise medicine consultant professor, told MaltaToday the short- and long-term consequences of peptide use are difficult to assess.

“Although the science and rationale behind some of the peptides is neat, many are not licensed and even with those that are, off-label use is rampant,” he said.

What is even more concerning, he added, is that individuals with “zero formal health knowledge” are distributing these products for purely financial reasons