HARTFORD (LN) — Attorney General William Tong announced Wednesday that international trade platform Made-in-China will cease all sales of unlawful so-called “research grade” GLP-1 weight loss drugs into the United States following a state investigation.
The settlement resolves an inquiry announced in May 2025 into the platform’s direct-to-consumer sales of bootleg GLP-1s without prescriptions or medical oversight. The drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human use.
Studies have found that bootleg GLP-1s can contain impurities, potential bacterial contamination, and inconsistent quantities of active ingredients, which can result in medication overdoses, according to the attorney general’s office. Sellers may falsely claim that such drugs are FDA-approved or are “generic” versions of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound.
Made-in-China cooperated with the investigation and entered into a settlement agreement that prohibits manufacturers from using the platform to advertise or sell GLP-1s to customers in the United States. The company must deploy a monitoring system to detect and remove such listings and remove any existing GLP-1 listings within five days.
The platform is subject to a $0.30 million penalty to the state, suspended after the payment of $30,000. Should the company violate any terms of the settlement, it will be subject to additional penalties.
The agreement follows a similar 2025 settlement with Triggered Brand, which resolved a lawsuit alleging violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. That settlement required Triggered Brand to cease all sales of bootleg GLP-1 weight loss drugs and subjected the company to a $0.30 million judgment, suspended after $18,500.
Also Wednesday, Tong announced a settlement with Radiance Medspa of Avon, which advertised and prescribed non-FDA approved compounded semaglutide and/or tirzepatide GLP-1 weight loss injections. The settlement follows letters sent in May 2025 to Connecticut clinics warning they could no longer market GLP-1 drugs produced by compounding pharmacies.
“There are currently no generic GLP-1 weight loss injections on the market, and anyone advertising or offering this is not telling the truth and exposing patients to potentially unsafe bootleg drugs. We will continue to identify and shut down sales of these illegal and unsafe products,” Tong said.