FDA warns US consumers about counterfeit weight-loss drug Alli

The US Food and Drug Administration yesterday issued a warning to consumers about a counterfeit and potentially harmful version of the branded product Alli (which has as its active ingredient orlistat). The counterfeits in fact contained sibutramine, which should not be used by certain patients or without physician oversight and can interact in a harmful way with other medications, the FDA said.

GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the approved version of Alli, said tests showed the falsely packaged and labeled products contained a controlled substance called sibutramine. In a statement on its web site, GSK said the counterfeit product has been sold on on-line auction sites, such as eBay. But there is currently no evidence that the fake product has been sold through other channels, such as retail stores, GSK said.