Anvisa and the Federal Police will conduct a joint analysis of weight-loss pens

Anvisa decides for joint-action with the Federal Police

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) and the Brazilian Federal Police published a joint technical note this Wednesday (May 6) to guide the integrated action in addressing the health risks and crimes associated with the irregular production, import and marketing of GLP-1 receptor agonists, popularly known in Brazil as "slimming pens".

For the Health Authority, this work is essential to assess the real risks to the health of the population; for the State as a whole, the results strengthen criminal investigations, contributing to interrupting highly organized illicit chains, which often act at an interstate level and are supported by digital platforms.

The LPG-type medications seized in Brazil will be analyzed to verify the content of the irregular products that have been circulating in the market. The goal is to verify which active substances can be found in those medications.

Irregular medication trade is considered a crime under the Brazilian Penal Code (Decree-Law No. 2,848/1940). With the laboratory evaluation by the Federal Police's forensic teams, the results of the analyses may be included in the investigations related to the topic. For Anvisa, this survey will help to assess the real risk those products pose to people's health.

The main irregularities observed in the market are the smuggling of pens without registration in Brazil and the handling of products under inadequate conditions, which pose risks of contamination and loss of effect. Irregular medicines also lack safety related to composition, purity, quality, and preservation.

The technical note consolidates a technical and legal understanding, aligns guidelines for action, and strengthens the exchange of information between Anvisa and the Federal Police, contributing to more effective actions for the prevention, inspection, investigation, and repression of illicit practices that endanger public health.

Health Risks

According to data analyzed by Anvisa, there is a significant increase in adverse effects related to the use of GLP-1 agonists. Between 2018 and 2026, almost 3,000 notifications were registered, almost half occurred in 2025. Among these notifications, serious outcomes, including deaths, were identified. Even without direct confirmation of the cause, the rapid growth in use — often without medical guidance or with irregular products — indicates a risk to public health and the need for immediate preventive actions.

In the criminal level, investigations conducted by the Federal Police, with Anvisa’s technical support, revealed a complex series of illicit chains, with interstate circulation, the use of digital platforms for large-scale sales, and the evidence of irregular imports of inputs, falling within the competencies of the Federal Police as provided for in Law No. 12,894/2013. Recent Federal Police-Anvisa joint operations revealed how serious the cases are and the high level of organization of these groups.

Inspections in 2026

In 2026, 11 inspections were carried out in compounding pharmacies and importing companies, resulting in 8 closures due to serious technical failures and lack of quality control. Inspections conducted by Anvisa between January and April resulted in the closure of 8 of the 26 establishments evaluated, in addition to the seizure of more than 1.3 million units of irregular injectable medications and the adoption of more than 11 prohibitive measures involving the import, trade and use of these products.

In the Anvisa-Federal Police joint operation carried out on April 7, in aesthetic clinics, importers and compounding pharmacies in 12 states, irregular transactions of R$ 4.8 million were identified involving the movement of tirzepatide in sufficient quantity to produce more than 1 million injectable devices. More than 17,000 vials of irregularly compounded tirzepatide were also seized. In three states, retatrutide was identified, a substance not yet officially released or registered by any regulatory agencies in the world.