The experimental weight-loss drug retatrutide, which has not yet been approved for the European market, is on the rise in the Netherlands. Hundreds of Dutch people are estimated to use the drug, bought mostly via TikTok, the Telegraaf reported after speaking with users and sellers.

Retatrutide is being developed for patients with obesity, and scientific research into its effects is still ongoing. The European Medicines Agency hasn’t even received an application for approval yet, since the drug is still in the experimental phase.

Nevertheless, retatrutide has gained popularity in recent months. Users tell the Telegraaf that it is both cheaper and more effective than existing alternatives. They mostly buy the drug through TikTok. The newspaper quickly found ten accounts selling the jars of powder, with some warning that their accounts may be deleted and providing instructions on how to find them again.

One seller, who sells through a personal website, told the Telegraaf that his business is booming. When he started selling retatrutide in January, he sold only a few jars a day. That figure has since risen to over 100 per day, he said. He sources stock from China and sells the substance as a “research peptide,” ostensibly intended for research purposes.

Gijs van Acker, the medical director of the Dutch Obesity Clinic, warns of the health risks involved in buying this experimental substance from unverified sources. “No one knows exactly what is inside the containers they order,” he told the newspaper. “If they receive something else, there is no telling how their body might react.”

There is also a risk that the manufacturing process may not have been sterile. And the fact that users mix the powders themselves at home adds another danger. A simple miscalculation can easily result in an overdose. “Essentially, you are gambling with your life,” Van Acker said.

The Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) also warns of the dangers of using these types of illicit weight-loss products. According to the authority, people in the Netherlands have ended up in the hospital, and some have died, because they used illegal medication.

The IGJ advised people seeking help with weight loss to consult their house doctor and obtain medication only through a licensed pharmacy.