The Office of the Prosecutor General and the Security Service of Ukraine announced suspicions against 27 members of an organized group that had established large-scale production and distribution of a falsified weight-loss drug under the brand name "Biopatid" in Ukraine. The active ingredient was tirzepatide, yet the product was manufactured without any permits, registration, or certification. This was reported on September 13, 2026, by RBC-Ukraine, citing official statements from the OPG and the SBU.

An Underground Lab and Smuggled Raw Materials from China

According to the investigation, the key active ingredient of unknown origin was smuggled in from China. To conceal the true nature of the cargo, a controlled customs broker declared it as an ordinary food supplement. The raw material was then sent to an underground laboratory, where finished vials were produced with no quality control and no adherence to pharmaceutical standards. The owner of a well-known Kyiv clinic played a separate role in the chain: aware of the drug's illegality, she not only failed to stop it but actively promoted it among colleagues, at specialized training events, and on social media.

Bloggers, Actors, and a "Cosmetic" Distribution Channel

To promote the counterfeit product, the organizers created a website and social media pages, hired sales managers, and actively offered the drug to cosmetic clinics, medical centers, and doctors. To build trust with a wider audience, they enlisted public figures—bloggers and actors—who served as informal "faces" of the product. Meanwhile, the finished drug was shipped to customers without maintaining the required storage temperature, further endangering consumers' health.

A 70-Fold Margin: From $17 to $1,200 per Vial

The scheme's financial model was extremely high-margin: the raw material for one vial cost the organizers roughly $17, while the final retail price reached $1,200. According to the investigation, the group's members earned more than $5 million since the beginning of 2026. Among the 27 defendants are the mastermind of the entire scheme and owner of the underground laboratory, the owner of the Kyiv clinic, the customs broker, as well as laboratory workers, packers, and sales managers.

More Than 250 Searches Across Six Regions and Asset Seizures

Law enforcement carried out more than 250 simultaneous searches in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Poltava, and other cities across Ukraine. During the investigative actions, the falsified drug and raw materials were seized, along with the underground laboratory's equipment, technical devices, cash in various currencies totaling nearly 15 million hryvnia, expensive cars, and other property belonging to the suspects. According to the report, the investigative actions were conducted simultaneously across different regions of the country.

What Comes Next: Pretrial Detention Measures and the Search for Victims

At present, investigators are determining which precautionary (preventive) measures will be applied to each of the 27 suspects. In parallel, work is underway to establish the exact channel through which the raw materials entered the country from abroad and to identify the circle of individuals who may have been harmed by the falsified drug. The final decision on all episodes will be made at the conclusion of the pretrial investigation.