Counterfeit Mounjaro Medication Discovered in Gurugram, Allegations of Adulteration and Mislabeling Emerge

Counterfeit Mounjaro Injections Seized in Gurugram

A crackdown on an illicit operation in Gurugram led to the seizure of counterfeit Mounjaro (tirzepatide) injections worth Rs 70 lakh on April 18. The Drugs Control Office carried out a raid on a vehicle in DLF Phase 4 and confiscated the fake injections.

According to officials, the counterfeit injections were identified by comparing them against the original product. The team found conspicuous colour differences and typographical errors on the packaging. While both boxes have an illustration of an injection pen, it is clear and bright on the original one, but blurred, dark, and shorter on the fake version. The boxes of the fake injections also had different shades of blue and red and glaring typographical errors.

The authorities are still awaiting lab results of the seized samples. A follow-up probe led to a raid on a flat in Gurugram's Sector 62, where injections were allegedly prepared by mixing water with raw drugs sourced from China through the e-commerce platform Alibaba.

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Police arrested Mujjamil, a deliveryman from DLF Phase 4, and subsequently took Avi Sharma, the alleged mastermind, into custody. Sharma, 32, allegedly started producing counterfeit injections to scale up his income after his previous ventures failed to generate adequate revenue. Before launching the illegal operation, Sharma had worked at his father's firm and later founded his own ayurvedic company, Hemped Souls International LLP, which sold natural oils.

Avi Sharma allegedly wanted to scale up his income to at least Rs 2 crore a month. In his pursuit of money, he started the illegal production of fake Mounjaro injections.

The American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Mounjaro, acknowledged the seizure in a statement. "We have been made aware of a recent development in relation to the seizure of suspicious and counterfeit products that allegedly carry our product brand name Mounjaro (tirzepatide)... Lilly takes patient safety extremely seriously and welcomes regulatory authority's action against illicit medicines," an Eli Lilly spokesperson in India said.

Eli Lilly launched Mounjaro in India in 2025, primarily for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity. The drug went on to become the highest-selling medicine by value in India within months of its launch.

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