Buying online, safely.

Why it matters where you buy

Mounjaro and Wegovy are prescription-only medicines. The MHRA says the only way to be sure you get a genuine GLP-1 medicine is to get it from a legitimate pharmacy, after a consultation with a healthcare professional.

Fake weight-loss pens are in circulation. The MHRA has reported counterfeit pens that closely copy the real ones. In October 2026 it seized more than 12,000 fake tirzepatide and retatrutide pens in Birmingham, with packaging for around 30,000 more. Nobody knows what products like these contain. In 2023 the MHRA said some people had been taken to hospital after using fake pens, and that some may have contained insulin.

Check the pharmacy is registered

Every pharmacy in Great Britain, including online ones, must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). In Northern Ireland the regulator is the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.

The GPhC says an online pharmacy must show these clearly on its website:

• its GPhC registration number
• the name of the pharmacy's owner
• the name of its superintendent pharmacist, if it has one
• the name and physical address of the pharmacy that supplies the medicine, with a phone number and email
• how to check its registration, and how to give feedback or raise a concern

What a proper consultation looks like

Since February 2025, GPhC guidance has treated weight-loss medicines as needing extra safeguards when they are prescribed online. A legitimate service should:

• check who you are, so the medicine goes to the right person
• not decide on a questionnaire alone. You and the prescriber must be able to talk to each other and ask questions.
• check your weight, height or BMI in a different way from the one you used to give it, such as a video consultation, your medical records or your GP. A phone call, or a photo or video you send in on its own, isn't enough for a first supply.
• ask for your consent to tell your GP or regular prescriber, and think carefully about whether it is safe to prescribe if you say no
• turn you down, and point you to other care, if the medicine isn't suitable or they can't check what they need

A thorough consultation can feel slower. That is the point: it is how a prescriber finds out whether a medicine is safe for you. Our safety guide explains who shouldn't take these medicines and why.

Red flags

Don't buy if any of these apply. Each comes from MHRA or GPhC warnings.

• No prescription needed. The MHRA's advice is simple: if you're offered a GLP-1 medicine without a prescription, walk away.
• No real consultation. A tick-box form with no way to speak to a prescriber, and no check of your weight.
• Social media, messaging apps or beauty salons. The MHRA says these medicines should not be bought from unregulated sellers such as beauty salons or through social media.
• A deal that seems too good to be true. The MHRA tells people to be wary of them.
• Powder in a vial that you mix yourself. Licensed GLP-1 medicines come as pre-filled pens or tablets. The MHRA says powder that has to be mixed with liquid before injecting is not authorised. That includes products sold as “research peptides”.
• Retatrutide, or anything sold as a new “GLP-3”. Retatrutide is not authorised in the UK, so anyone selling it is doing so illegally. Our retatrutide page explains where it is in trials.
• No named pharmacy behind it. No GPhC number, no address, or a name that doesn't match the register.

If you think you have a fake pen

• Don't use it. The MHRA has told people not to use pre-filled weight-loss pens bought online from sellers that aren't registered pharmacies, and to report them.
• If you've already used it and feel unwell, speak to a doctor or pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999. Take the pen and its packaging with you if you can.
• Signs of low blood sugar, such as shaking, sweating, confusion or drowsiness, need urgent help, because some fake pens have contained insulin.

How to report a seller or a product

• A suspected fake medicine or a side effect: report it to the MHRA through the Yellow Card scheme, on the website or the app. The MHRA asks anyone who thinks a GLP-1 medicine isn't genuine to report it there.
• A registered pharmacy you're worried about: you can raise a concern with the GPhC.

How PPRX works

PPRX is a GPhC-registered pharmacy (registration 9012740) in Perivale, London. You can check us on the GPhC register. Our superintendent pharmacist is Omar Kadir (GPhC 2078291). Our last GPhC inspection, on 11 March 2026, found standards met. Our regulatory page has the details, and you can read about our pharmacists.

Every order is reviewed by a UK-registered prescriber before anything is dispensed. The weight-loss medicines we supply (Mounjaro, Wegovy, the Wegovy Pill, orlistat and Alli) are all licensed in the UK, and if treatment isn't suitable for you, you're refunded in full. How it works explains each step.