FDA Requires Prescription for Foreign Weight-Loss Injections
核心洞察
Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration reminded the public that GLP-1 receptor agonists (搜索) brought from abroad require a prescription and are used for type 2 diabetes (搜索) and obesity (搜索).
Imported amounts must not exceed the prescription or a six-month supply, and travelers may still face random inspections at the green channel.
Authorities recorded 448 imported GLP-1 cases this year, 80 illegal, with NT$2.36 million in fines and 54 adverse-event reports since 2023.
Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration said GLP-1 receptor agonists (搜索), prescription medicines used mainly to treat type 2 diabetes (搜索) and to support weight loss in people with obesity (搜索) by suppressing appetite, require a prescription when brought into the country from abroad. The amount carried in must not exceed the prescription or a six-month supply. Travelers whose quantities comply may use the green "Nothing to Declare" channel, but the agency said they may still be subject to random inspections.
So far this year, authorities have handled 448 cases involving imported GLP-1 drugs, 80 of which were found to be illegal, the FDA said. Fines totaling NT$2.36 million (US$74,009) were issued for contraventions including unauthorized pharmaceutical activities by unlicensed businesses, failure to follow prescribed dispensing procedures, and selling drugs without prescriptions. The agency said it is stepping up online monitoring, has asked Meta (搜索) to remove 1,374 posts advertising illegal medicine sales, and has asked the Taiwan Network Information Center (搜索) to block five websites suspected of involvement in scams. It said it has found no travel agencies arranging overseas trips to buy the drugs and no related illegal advertisements.
The FDA said it has asked pharmacists to implement risk-control measures, citing 54 adverse-event reports since 2023 involving GLP-1 receptor agonists (搜索) used for weight control. Reported symptoms include gastrointestinal discomfort, hypoglycemia, nausea, vomiting and injection-site reactions. It urged the public not to purchase or self-administer the drugs through unofficial channels, adding that improper use or products from unknown sources could pose health risks.
Source: Taipei Times