Two enforcement actions this week — one in the United States, one in France — signal that the international regulatory posture on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is hardening on two distinct fronts: unauthorized e-commerce distribution and direct-to-consumer marketing. The actions are independent but the pattern is convergent. State attorneys general and European medicines regulators are no longer treating GLP-1 promotion and sales as a peripheral concern.

The Connecticut Attorney General announced a settlement with Made-in-China.com — a major international e-commerce platform — that requires the platform to cease all US-facing GLP-1 sales. This is the first enforcement action against an international platform in the gray-market GLP-1 space. Separately, France’s national medicines agency ANSM fined Novo Nordisk €1.78 million and Eli Lilly €108,766 over advertising campaigns for Saxenda, Wegovy, and Mounjaro that the regulator deemed indirect promotion of prescription drugs.

The Connecticut Action

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a settlement with Made-in-China.com under which the platform agrees to cease all US-facing advertising and sales of GLP-1 products, deploy monitoring systems to detect GLP-1 listings, and remove any listings within five days of detection. The settlement imposed a $300,000 penalty, suspended after a $30,000 payment, conditional on ongoing compliance.

The investigation began in May 2025 after Tong’s office identified unlawful direct-to-consumer sales of unverified GLP-1 formulations through the platform — sales of products marketed as “research grade” semaglutide and tirzepatide sold without prescription requirements or medical oversight.

This is the first international e-commerce platform enforcement in the gray-market GLP-1 space. Connecticut’s broader pattern — earlier actions against “Triggered Brand” and other unauthorized distributors — now extends to international platforms operating from outside US jurisdiction. The settlement structure is replicable: other state AGs with active consumer protection enforcement (California, New York, Texas, among others) are positioned to take similar action against international platforms operating in their states.

The implication for the gray-market peptide ecosystem is direct. International e-commerce platforms have been a significant channel for unauthorized peptide sales — not just GLP-1s but BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, and other research-chemical compounds. The Connecticut action establishes a legal pathway by which state regulators can compel international platforms to remove peptide listings targeting US consumers. The pattern is likely to expand.

The France Action

France’s Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament (ANSM) fined Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly a combined €1.89 million over advertising campaigns the regulator deemed to constitute “indirect promotion of medicines subject to mandatory medical prescription.” The breakdown:

• Novo Nordisk: €1 million for Saxenda advertisements + €783,000 for Wegovy advertisements (€1.78 million total).
• Eli Lilly: €108,766 for Mounjaro campaigns.

ANSM’s statement on the fines noted the regulator’s intent: to “prevent any communication likely to promote the use of drug treatment as the principal response to obesity, to encourage the public to request this treatment from a healthcare professional or seek to obtain it themselves.”

This is the first significant European enforcement action specifically targeting GLP-1 obesity drug marketing. The regulatory framework differs from the United States — most European Union countries prohibit direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs entirely, where the US permits it under FDA-administered restrictions. The Novo and Lilly campaigns operated in a regulatory zone the companies appear to have miscalculated.

The signal is broader than the two specific actions. European regulators are watching the GLP-1 marketing environment more closely than they have before. As the EU pharmaceutical advertising framework is enforced more aggressively, the marketing tactics that drove the explosive US GLP-1 demand growth will need to be calibrated very differently for European markets.

What This Means for Readers

For patients sourcing GLP-1s through international e-commerce platforms, the regulatory ground is shifting. The Connecticut action establishes that international platforms can be compelled to remove US-facing GLP-1 sales. Other states are likely to follow. The window for purchasing peptides from international gray-market platforms is narrowing.

For patients in France or other EU countries who have seen DTC-adjacent advertising of GLP-1 obesity drugs, the ANSM action signals that the regulatory pendulum is swinging back. European GLP-1 marketing is going to look different over the next 12 months.

For the broader Peptidings audience, both actions reinforce a position the site has held since launch: the unregulated channels — international e-commerce platforms, “research grade” peptide vendors, DTC-adjacent marketing — operate in a regulatory environment that is hardening, not softening. The legitimate channels (FDA-approved branded drugs, state-licensed compounding pharmacies under physician prescription) are increasingly the practical pathways for legal GLP-1 access. The 503B exclusion proposal published April 30 and the upcoming PCAC July 23–24 meeting are part of the same trajectory.

The Wild West phase of GLP-1 commercialization had a short run. Enforcement is converging.

References

1. Connecticut Attorney General Tong Announces Online Platform to Cease Bootleg Weight Loss Drug Sales. CT AG. May 2026. CT AG
2. Online Platform Agrees to Stop Selling GLP-1 Drugs to US Customers. ABC News. May 2026. ABC News
3. French Regulator Fines Novo, Lilly Over Weight Loss Ad Campaigns. STAT News. May 4, 2026. STAT News
4. Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Fined by French Regulator Over Obesity Drug Promotions. FiercePharma. May 2026. FiercePharma