Authorities in West Tennessee have seized hundreds of vials of black-market weight-loss drugs during a series of searches at a residence and two clinics, following a two-month investigation.
On Tuesday, special agents executed a search warrant at a home on Saddleback Drive, uncovering 330 vials of illegal drugs. The substances, including Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, Cagrilintide, and Retatrutide, were labeled as “for research purposes only” and “not for human consumption.”
The investigation then expanded to two weight-loss clinics. At Medina Weight Loss and Wellness, agents confiscated 279 additional vials. Another 89 vials were seized from Haywood Weight Loss and Wellness in Brownsville.
In total, 698 vials of illegal weight-loss drugs were recovered across all three locations. The drugs are believed to have been intended for unregulated use, bypassing proper safety and approval processes.
Emily Brooke Arnold, 41, has been arrested and is facing multiple charges in both Haywood and Gibson counties. Investigators have not disclosed whether additional arrests are expected as the case unfolds.
Pfizer announced last week that it is discontinuing development of its twice-daily weight loss pill “danuglipron” after a clinical trial showed “high rates” of adverse side effects among users.
The pharmaceutical company said a recent study involving adults with obesity proved the drug’s “primary endpoint demonstrating statistically significant change in body weight from baseline.”
However, “while the most common adverse events were mild and gastrointestinal in nature consistent with the mechanism, high rates were observed (up to 73% nausea; up to 47% vomiting; up to 25% diarrhea).”
“High discontinuation rates, greater than 50%, were seen across all doses compared to approximately 40% with placebo,” Pfizer added.
Pfizer claims danuglipron is “intended to keep blood sugar at healthy levels and work by increasing the amount of insulin released and lowering the amount of glucagon released into the blood,” while also slowing down the digestion of food and increasing the feeling of fullness after eating.
“We believe an improved once-daily formulation of danuglipron could play an important role in the obesity treatment paradigm, and we will focus our efforts on gathering the data to understand its potential profile,” Mikael Dolsten, the chief scientific officer and president of Pfizer Research and Development, said in a statement.
