Prohibited technique: court sentenced for the first time for gray sales of Ozempik
On December 26, Khoroshevsky District Court sentenced two entrepreneurs who illegally sold the prescription drug Ozempik on the Internet. This is the first such verdict after the drug was officially stopped being supplied to Russia in 2023. Both defendants, who imported the drug from Armenia, received suspended sentences. The case was brought under the article on the import and sale of substandard medicines on the Internet. During the investigation, the experts called the drug as such, because its instructions were only in foreign languages. This offense appeared in the Criminal Code only four years ago. About how the police came to the convicts and why the use of "Ozempik" not as intended can be dangerous to health - in the material "Izvestia".
How illegally imported prescription drug
49-year-old Moscow resident Arsen Karapetyan and 39-year-old Mary Melikyan from the Moscow region received 6 years and 5.5 years suspended sentence. They were convicted under the article on importation into the territory of Russia and sale of substandard medicines using the Internet on a large scale.
The last official delivery of Ozempik to Russia took place at the end of 2023. And, as the Khoroshevsky District Court found, it was last year that the accomplices agreed to illegally import the diabetes drug into Russia. Karapetyan brought the drug from one of the neighboring countries, then transferred them to his accomplice. The woman kept the illegal Ozempik in a pharmacy and sold it on one of the online resources.
- In the course of operational activities revealed the placement of an advertisement on the Internet site at the direction of the convicts , after which on March 24, 2023, as part of the verification purchase was made an order of the drug for the amount of 133 thousand rubles, which was delivered by courier, - reported in the prosecutor's office.
The supervisory agency noted that the expert checked the drugs sold by Karapetyan and Melikyan and found them to be substandard. In particular, the instructions for use were only in a foreign language, which does not provide full information to patients about the methods of use, indications and contraindications, which "creates a high risk of harm to health."
Businessman Arsen Karapetyan waited for his verdict while under house arrest. He told Izvestia that he did not agree with the charges, and that he had brought only one packet to Russia from Armenia for personal use, which "accidentally" turned up in the possession of another person.
"Izvestia" in mid-December 2024 conducted its own investigation about the gray market of "Ozempik". For this purpose, a correspondent of the editorial office arranged a meeting with one of the "gray" sellers.
- "Do not enter the premises, we meet on the street, near the store "Red and White", - said the employee of the pharmacy "LavandaFarm", located on Chertanovskaya Street in Moscow.
An announcement about the availability of Ozempik in this particular pharmacy was found through one of the popular drug aggregators. The seller said that the drug is sold past the cash register, there will be no check, and the fact of sale should not get on the cameras in the pharmacy. Payment only by cash or transfer.
The price, as he noted, is affected by delivery methods - the drug is imported by truck, train, car or airplane.
- I use only air for delivery, it is the most proven way to ensure the right conditions of transportation," he said. - If the price of the drug is below 20 thousand, it means that it was brought by train or car, and there to ensure the necessary conditions of storage is more difficult (the drug must be stored and transported at a temperature of 2 to 8 ° C.). - Ed.).
The trader trusts his suppliers of "Ozempika", so no laboratory tests of the received batches are not conducted. In addition to pharmacies, as Izvestia found out, the drug is also sold by private individuals in messengers. They claim that they bring the product from abroad, including directly from Denmark, where the production is located.
What are the consequences of taking Ozempik?
"Ozempik" is used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and has been on the list of vital and essential drugs since 2022. In November 2022, Novo Nordisk notified Roszdravnadzor that it had stopped supplying this drug to Russia.
At the peak of official supplies of Ozempik to Russia, in 2022, it was imported for about 7.4 billion rubles, a source familiar with FCS statistics told Izvestia. At that time, it occupied 100% of the market for semaglutide-based drugs. By 2024, the situation has changed dramatically. Official sales of the drug Novo Nordisk in January - October this year, according to DSM Group, amounted to only 562.8 million rubles, supplies for the state segment - another 450 thousand rubles.
Ozempik" gained its popularity among those who want to lose weight - it allegedly reduces appetite.
- Its active ingredient - simaglutide, it imitates the hormone, which we produce ourselves, - reminded the doctor endocrinologist-dietologist Anastasia Pavlyuk-Pavlyuchenko. - The drug slows down gastric emptying, a person is less hungry, but there are side effects. Among them are dizziness, apathy and increased anxiety. In addition, nausea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal bloating are possible.
"Ozempik" in no case can not independently prescribe itself "for weight loss" or even more so "for pregnancy", warned the expert laboratory "Gemotest", obstetrician-gynecologist, candidate of medical sciences Olga Ulankina.
- The instructions for the drug state that pregnancy is a direct contraindication to taking "Ozempik"," she said. - Data on its use by pregnant women are limited, but animal studies have shown that taking the drug during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage and congenital fetal abnormalities.
If a woman is using Ozempic, she is advised to use contraception, and if pregnancy occurs, the drug should be stopped immediately, she added.
New judicial practice
Criminal liability for the sale of substandard medicines through the Internet - the practice is relatively new, this norm was included in the Criminal Code only four years ago. Vladimir Kuznetsov, chairman of the All-Russian Trade Union of Mediators, told Izvestia. Therefore, there are not too many court verdicts on such cases yet.
- There is only one sentence for such sales on the grounds of lack of Russian-language labeling and instructions, but it was a different drug, - recalled the lawyer. - This practice shows that even the sale of original medicines in the absence of instructions in Russian can lead to criminal liability. In that case, the defendant received 1.5 years of imprisonment.
In general, such a crime is punishable by five to eight years of imprisonment with a fine of 1-3 million rubles, added Evgenia Privalova, lawyer of Lobutev & Partners.
- In this case, the convicts themselves helped the law enforcement authorities in solving the crime by posting information on the sale of the drug on the Internet," she explained.
This approach is very controversial, since in such cases the original products are sold, and the violation is imputed to the guilt simply because of the lack of instructions in Russian, said Vladimir Kuznetsov.
Cases of import and sale of falsified, substandard and unregistered medicines are not uncommon, the lawyer said. According to her, along with substandard drugs imported from foreign countries, drugs stolen from state medical institutions are also sold.
- For example, medicines issued under preferential prescriptions, but in the end, due to the actions of offenders, they never reached privileged categories of citizens and patients of hospitals," said Evgenia Privalova.
In her opinion, the statistics of committing such crimes may increase, as imported medicines, which remain popular among the population, have left the market due to the sanctions.
