Reporting finds gym users already taking unapproved retatrutide

Business Insider reporting has found that gym-goers and bodybuilders are already injecting retatrutide, an experimental weight-loss drug from Eli Lilly, even though it has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and may not reach pharmacies until 2026 or, more likely, 2027 ^[1].

Retatrutide belongs to the same GLP-1 drug family as Ozempic and Mounjaro, but it works differently. It mimics three hunger hormones — GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon — instead of one or two, which is why some doctors and researchers have nicknamed it "King Kong" for its potential to rival bariatric surgery in early trial results while also protecting lean muscle ^[1].

Because it is unapproved, Eli Lilly is still running clinical trials and no pharmacy can legally sell it. Yet the reporting found people buying substances labeled "reta" or "ret" from online research labs that are legally allowed to manufacture compounds only for research, with products stamped "not for human consumption" ^[1]. One 24-year-old described mixing powder with water and injecting half a milligram a week after seeing bodybuilders post before-and-after photos on TikTok ^[1].

One seller, 22-year-old Max Radovanic, told Business Insider he lost 230 pounds over about two and a half years using dieting, then semaglutide, then retatrutide. After his insurance stopped covering his Rybelsus prescription once he'd lost enough weight to no longer qualify, he turned to peptide websites and began buying retatrutide in bulk from a research lab, repackaging it out of a Colorado warehouse. He said he built a customer base of thousands across North America in just a few months, also selling cagrilintide, an unapproved Novo Nordisk drug, and blends of the two ^[1]. Another pair of gym-focused entrepreneurs launched Overtime Men's Health in Tampa, Florida, sourcing retatrutide from what they described as a compounder's "sister company" ^[1].

Eli Lilly told Business Insider that "anyone purporting to sell retatrutide for human use is breaking the law" and that "no one should consider taking anything claiming to be retatrutide outside of a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial" ^[1]. Novo Nordisk separately criticized compounders that it said try to "evade the law or abuse so-called 'grey areas'" ^[1]. Industry groups representing compounding pharmacies, the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding and the Outsourcing Facilities Association, said retatrutide obtained this way is not compounded or regulated in any way, since it is not an approved drug ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

The FDA has said people should get medications only from licensed pharmacies with a valid prescription ^[1]. Products sold as research-grade retatrutide are not reviewed for safety, purity, or dosing accuracy. A Brookings report cited in the reporting found that most counterfeit GLP-1 products trace back to wholesale manufacturers in China operating outside US oversight, and some unregulated products have been found to contain contaminants such as formaldehyde ^[1]. Because retatrutide has not completed clinical trials, there is no FDA-reviewed data yet on its full safety profile, appropriate dosing, or long-term effects outside of Lilly's own trial settings ^[1]. People using these products are effectively dosing themselves based on social media posts and, in some cases, chatbot advice, according to the reporting ^[1].

What happens next

Eli Lilly's retatrutide trials are ongoing, and the company has said the drug could reach the market as early as late 2026, though 2027 is considered more likely ^[1]. TikTok has begun removing videos promoting retatrutide, and the FDA continues trying to intercept unauthorized shipments at the border, though the reporting describes this enforcement as having limited success so far ^[1]. What further regulatory or legal steps companies or agencies may take against sellers of unapproved retatrutide is not detailed in this reporting.