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Hidden-market promoters of weight-loss drugs are running social media “giveaway” competitions that offer powerful, unlicensed medicines as prizes.
The Guardian has been monitoring WhatsApp and Telegram groups promoting substances such as retatrutide – a medicine unlicensed in the UK. Some groups have posted competitions for existing customers, claiming they have “just 24 hours” to enter giveaways or claim injections.
Experts described what was happening as “extremely dangerous”, warning that digital marketing techniques were being applied to pharmaceuticals without a licence in the UK.
One advert from a WhatsApp group that calls itself BioUK Research peptides 2, seen by the Guardian, urged in block capitals: “Last chance to enter – 24 hours left!”, claiming it was their “biggest giveaway yet” and offering an “ultimate peptide stack” including retatrutide (Reta) 20mg, Glow (GHK-Cu) pens and melanotan II (MT2).
Retatrutide is an experimental weight-loss drug that is not yet approved for use anywhere in the world. Glow pens contain a copper peptide – the building blocks of proteins – marketed for skin repair and anti-ageing. They are often sold as research chemicals or for topical cosmetic use, and pre-mixed pens intended for injection are not approved by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).
Melanotan II is an unapproved tanning peptide that increases melanin but can cause side-effects. Expert health advice from UK sources states that melanotan injections are illegal to sell and supply, are untested for safety or efficacy, and may pose health risks.
The post said the competition was “100% free to enter” and that participants had only to add three friends to the group and follow the account on TikTok and Instagram. The winner, the message said, would be drawn the next day “using a random name generator”. It ended: “Good luck everyone.”
A video shared later with the Guardian showed a spinning wheel of 85 entrants, with one name selected as the winner of the weight-loss drugs.
Guardian research has uncovered dozens of registered companies with Bio UK in their name. This WhatsApp channel is not believed to relate to any of them.
Under UK law, many of the substances being promoted in these giveaways are tightly regulated medicines rather than harmless supplements. Weight-loss injections such as GLP-1 drugs can be supplied legally only with a valid prescription and must be dispensed through licensed pharmacies or authorised healthcare providers.
Drugs that have not been approved for medical use, such as retatrutide, which is still undergoing clinical trials, cannot legally be marketed or sold to the public at all. Advertising or distributing prescription-only or unlicensed medicines through social media competitions may breach medicines regulations, and products obtained through hidden-market sellers carry serious risks, as they are not subject to safety checks, quality controls or medical oversight.
The channel’s WhatsApp group has 1,024 members and promises next-day delivery.
A separate company, calling itself BioBlue Cosmetics but also operating as BioBlue Fitness, is selling so-called “skinny jabs” under the guise of exercise programmes. Its website appears to be a female-led online coaching platform featuring workout imagery and fitness plans fronted by trainers named Rita, Teressa, Carla and Mary Jane.
However, when potential customers inquire via linked WhatsApp and Telegram channels, administrators reveal that the “coaching” is not fitness instruction but a coded reference to unlicensed weight-loss drugs. For example, “Get fit with Rita” is used as shorthand for retatrutide.
One administrator confirmed the system when the Guardian posed as a customer, explaining that consumers were not signing up for workouts at all: “So click on the website and look for ‘Get fit with Rita’. Don’t worry, you’re not signing up to a workout programme. The 20 mins is 20mg, 40 mins is 40mg and 60 mins is 60mg.”
By disguising drug sales as coaching or training services, operators gain access to payment options intended for legitimate businesses.
Emily Rickard, a research fellow at the University of Bath, said: “Giveaways, countdown timers and raffles are classic pressure tactics designed to override caution, yet they’re being used to promote powerful, unlicensed injectable drugs. This not only trivialises the use of unlicensed medicines but actively discourages people from stopping to ask whether what’s being offered is legal or appropriate. From a safety perspective, that is extremely dangerous.”
Dr Piotr Ozieranski, a reader in sociology at the University of Bath, said “highly problematic digital marketing techniques” were being applied “to unregulated pharmaceuticals”. He added: “Worryingly, they are now being used to promote powerful injectable drugs as ‘prizes’ rather than as healthcare interventions that require appropriate clinical oversight.”
BioUK Research peptides 2 did not respond to a request for comment. BioBlue Fitness did not respond to a request for comment but deleted all messages and discussions in its Telegram channel, telling customers it had “changed settings”.
Telegram said the sale of illegal medication was explicitly forbidden by its terms of service “and such content is routinely removed whenever discovered”.
Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, pointed the Guardian to its Community Standards, which said content that attempted to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift weight-loss products would be removed.
