A patient suffers a torn oesophagus after taking a counterfeit drug reportedly sold as retatrutide, according to reports from Australian outlets. Health warnings follow the incident as authorities and laboratories continue to test products being marketed as the injectable peptide.
Testing of the counterfeit product finds the active ingredient at about eight times the level allowed under approved standards, according to the outlets. The findings add to broader concerns about safety risks as demand grows for peptide-based weight-loss or metabolic products, often sold outside regulated channels.
While both outlets report the same medical incident and the same key laboratory result, they frame the issue in terms of escalating warnings. PerthNow and 7News Australia both highlight that the higher-than-approved dosage in the counterfeit supply can increase the likelihood of harm.
