Tong settles with ‘bootleg’ GLP-1 provider

Connecticut Inside Investigator – Wednesday, August 6, 2025
By Katherine Revello

Attorney General William Tong has reached a $300,000 settlement with Triggered Brand, bringing an end to a lawsuit filed in May that alleged the Florida-based company had violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) and laws prohibiting acting as a pharmacy without a license by marketing and selling “bootleg” GLP-1 weight loss drugs to state residents. Triggered Brand will pay $18,500 unless it violates the terms of the settlement.

In May, Tong announced enforcement actions against both Triggered Brand and Made in China, a “Chinese international trade platform” over their sale and marketing of “research-grade” GLP-1s as injectable weight loss drugs.

Unlike medications like Wegovy and Ozempic, which the FDA has approved for use as weight loss drugs, research-grade GLP-1s are not approved for use and, according to the attorney general’s office can “contain impurities, potential bacterial contamination, and inconsistent quantities of active ingredients, which can result in medication overdoses.”

Tong’s complaint against Triggered Brand also alleged the company was engaging in other deceptive business practices, including listing its business address at a mailbox rental service and limiting the types of payments it received to cryptocurrency and peer-to-peer money transfer apps.

Tong’s investigation of Made in China is still ongoing.

Also in May, Tong sent a letter to weight loss clinics and medical spas warning them it believed advertisements for compounded GLP-1s violated CUPTA. The letter claimed the FDA no longer allowed compounding pharmacies, which make customized medications tailored to individual patients needs, to manufacture GLP-1s because there is no longer a shortage of their prescription equivalents. It also warned against the advertisement of vitamins that contained compounded GLP-1s.

Whether that statement goes to far, however, has raised legal questions.

“The AG’s Letter appears to suggest that compounded versions cannot be advertised or prescribed due to their lack of FDA approval, or because they contain vitamins that are not FDA-approved. Importantly, this interpretation may not fully reflect the regulatory framework governing compounded medications. Compounds are by statutory definition, not FDA-approval. In fact, they are statutorily exempt from that requirement pursuant to Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. Vitamins are also considered as Dietary Supplements, and by definition, are not required to undergo FDA approval.” law firm Frier Levitt wrote in an alert to providers.

The issue is not limited to Connecticut, as companies like Noom have indicated they will continue to offer compounded GLP-1s.

“We know it can be expensive and difficult to obtain certain prescription medications, especially when it comes to GLP-1s, but it is critical for your health and safety that you only obtain these drugs from a licensed pharmacist after speaking with your doctor and getting a prescription,” Department of Consumer Protections commissioner Brian Caffarelli said in a press release announcing the settlement with Triggered Brand.

Use of prescription GLP-1s has come with a hefty price tag for Connecticut. In July 2023, the state required employees using GLP-1s to lose weight to enroll in the Flyte weight loss program. While participants using GLP-1s saw significant weight loss over the first six months of use, the program came with a projected $34 to $40 million price tag in 2024 alone and complaints that it was adversely impacting local doctors.

In June 2024, comptroller Sean Scanlon announced plans for the state to permanently partner with the company behind Flyte.

In July 2025, Gov. Ned Lamont signed a law that allows the state to seek the okay of the federal Department of Health and Human Services to partner with a drug company to produce a generic GLP-1 that would be available to HUSKY Health members.

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