KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat was told that Malaysia's Health Ministry confiscated over RM300,000 worth of the GLP-1-related drug Retatrutide between 2025 and September this year, even though the medication has not been cleared for use in the country.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said 12 raids were carried out by the ministry's Pharmacy Enforcement Division against illegal sales of the product, with 697 units seized.
He put the estimated value of the seizures at RM341,000 and noted that the product is still absent from the list of approved formulations, speaking during Monday's (Nov 2) question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
Turning to illegal sales of Ozempic and semaglutide products, Dzulkefly said 7 enforcement operations were conducted, leading to the seizure of 62 units valued at RM64,170.
The minister was answering Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa (PH-Sekijang), who wanted to know whether anyone had been arrested over the illegal online sale of regulated GLP-1 products after influencers promoted them on social media, and what tougher steps the ministry would take to stop such sales.
Retatrutide is not registered with Malaysia's Drug Control Authority (DCA) and cannot legally be sold in the country.
In June this year, the ministry stated that the ban covers import, marketing and supply in Malaysia as well as sale.
The enforcement division also removed 42,639 unapproved medical advertisements from e-commerce platforms and acted against another 13,070 unapproved medical advertisements on social media between January 2023 and December 2025, according to the report.
Dzulkefly said the ministry recognised the mounting concern about GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have become popular of late.
He stressed, however, that diabetes treatment is highly individualised and depends on a patient's condition, health status and other relevant factors.
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He said patients who need such treatment may seek approval through the ministry's existing special drug approval mechanism.
Between January and September 2026, a total of 240 treatment applications were approved at an overall cost of RM2.56mil, he added.
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He added that monitoring of e-commerce and online platforms would be stepped up to curb misuse, since protecting the safety, well-being and lives of the people remains the ultimate priority.
[SOURCE: The Star, Malaysia]
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said 12 raids were carried out by the ministry's Pharmacy Enforcement Division against illegal sales of the product, with 697 units seized.
He put the estimated value of the seizures at RM341,000 and noted that the product is still absent from the list of approved formulations, speaking during Monday's (Nov 2) question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
Turning to illegal sales of Ozempic and semaglutide products, Dzulkefly said 7 enforcement operations were conducted, leading to the seizure of 62 units valued at RM64,170.
The minister was answering Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa (PH-Sekijang), who wanted to know whether anyone had been arrested over the illegal online sale of regulated GLP-1 products after influencers promoted them on social media, and what tougher steps the ministry would take to stop such sales.
Retatrutide is not registered with Malaysia's Drug Control Authority (DCA) and cannot legally be sold in the country.
In June this year, the ministry stated that the ban covers import, marketing and supply in Malaysia as well as sale.
The enforcement division also removed 42,639 unapproved medical advertisements from e-commerce platforms and acted against another 13,070 unapproved medical advertisements on social media between January 2023 and December 2025, according to the report.
Dzulkefly said the ministry recognised the mounting concern about GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have become popular of late.
He stressed, however, that diabetes treatment is highly individualised and depends on a patient's condition, health status and other relevant factors.
[[Q1]]
[[Q2]]
He said patients who need such treatment may seek approval through the ministry's existing special drug approval mechanism.
Between January and September 2026, a total of 240 treatment applications were approved at an overall cost of RM2.56mil, he added.
[[Q3]]
[[Q4]]
He added that monitoring of e-commerce and online platforms would be stepped up to curb misuse, since protecting the safety, well-being and lives of the people remains the ultimate priority.
[SOURCE: The Star, Malaysia]
