Panama has an obesity problem and a GLP-1 sales problem at the same time. Its health ministry said in 2025 that it was investigating how Ozempic is used for weight loss, and much of the trade runs through social media sellers with no premises. US clinics face the same pairing: real demand, strong trial data and enforcement aimed at how the product is sold.
Key points
- 72% of adults in Panama have overweight or obesity; adult obesity is 36.1% [2][3].
- In the STEP 1 trial (1,961 adults), weekly semaglutide was associated with a 14.9% reduction in body weight at 68 weeks, vs a 2.4% reduction with placebo [9].
- In 2025 MINSA said it is investigating misuse of Ozempic for weight loss; nausea leads the adverse-event reports [1].
- PAHO issued a regional alert in 2026 on GLP-1 misuse, including cosmetic use and sales through social media [6].
US status (October 2026): Semaglutide is FDA-approved (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy), the shortage ended February 21, 2025, and a 503A pharmacy may compound it only for a named patient within FDA’s limits on copies; MDside providers prescribe the approved products. See the semaglutide status page.
Demand in Panama is high
According to MINSA’s latest national survey, 72% of Panamanians over 18 have overweight or obesity [2]. Adult obesity reaches 36.1% (43.1% in women and 29% in men), the figure PAHO’s office cited when Panama launched its 2025 to 2030 obesity acceleration plan [3].
Against that backdrop, GLP-1 receptor agonists became the most talked-about medicine. The trials explain why. In STEP 1, with 1,961 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes, weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg was associated with a mean weight reduction of 14.9% at 68 weeks, vs 2.4% with placebo [9]. Panamanian endocrinologist Enrique Mendoza, former dean of the University of Panama School of Medicine, told La Prensa that GLP-1 agonists are revolutionizing the treatment of diabetes and obesity [7].
- 72%: adults with overweight or obesity in Panama [2]
- 36.1%: adult obesity (43.1% in women) [3]
- 14.9%: mean body weight reduction at 68 weeks on semaglutide in STEP 1 [9]
Panama’s health ministry is reviewing how Ozempic is used
In July 2025 DNFD director Uriel Pérez said MINSA was reviewing how Ozempic is being used in the country. La Estrella de Panamá’s headline was blunt: “it is not a weight-loss medicine” [1]. According to the report, nausea leads the reported adverse effects (75%), mostly in women [1].
The other focus is how it is sold. MINSA found that these products are often sold through social media, by sellers with no physical premises [1]. In 2024 the DNFD had already relayed an alert from Colombia’s INVIMA on “semaglutide + vitamin B12” vials, which have no Panamanian registration, and warned that many fraudulent products are sold online, on social media and through WhatsApp chains [5]. In 2023, amid counterfeit Ozempic detected in Europe and the Americas, it reported that Ozempic had two sanitary registrations in the country [4]. The counterfeit side is covered in fake Ozempic and Mounjaro alerts in Panama.
The region is moving the same way
In February 2026 the Pan American Health Organization issued an epidemiological alert on GLP-1s: more adverse-event reports, purely cosmetic use, and sales “through unofficial channels, including the internet and social media” [6]. PAHO asked countries to strengthen pharmacovigilance [6]. Panama is not named; the alert covers the whole region [6].
In the United States, the argument behind compounded semaglutide also changed: on February 21, 2025 the FDA declared the semaglutide injection shortage resolved [8]. What that means for a US program is in compounded GLP-1s after the shortage.
Efficacy is settled and the fight is over how it is sold
The debate in Panama has moved past whether GLP-1s work. The trials show they do, with measured effects on weight and other outcomes [9]. The clash sits elsewhere. On one side is an obesity epidemic documented by MINSA itself [2][3]. On the other are authorities who see growing cosmetic use, products of unknown origin and social-media sales [1][5][6].
What is still unclear. We found no public MINSA data on how many people in Panama use GLP-1s, nor the outcome of the review announced in 2025. We also found no statement on the topic from Panama’s medical association or endocrinology societies.
What this means for you
The Panama pattern maps onto the US one: regulators accept the drug and go after the channel. Default to the approved product, document any patient-specific reason for a compounded preparation, and keep your marketing from presenting a compounded product as the brand. The ad rules are in what you may say about compounded semaglutide, and a program built on that basis is described in weight management.
References
- Vega Loo M. Minsa investiga el mal uso del Ozempic en Panamá: no es un medicamento para bajar de peso. La Estrella de Panamá. 12 de julio de 2025. Link
- Telemetro. ¡Advertencia! MINSA revela que el 72% de los adultos en Panamá enfrentan obesidad. 7 de enero de 2025. Link
- Panamá América. Lanzan plan de aceleración para detener la obesidad que afecta al 36% de la población adulta. 16 de enero de 2025. Link
- Ministerio de Salud de Panamá, DNFD. Comunicado 076/23/DNFD: Actualización sobre falsificación de Ozempic. 8 de noviembre de 2023. Link
- Ministerio de Salud de Panamá, DNFD. Comunicado 050/DNFD-2024: Alerta sobre el producto Semaglutida + Vitamina B12. 2 de mayo de 2024. Link
- Organización Panamericana de la Salud. Ante reportes de uso indebido de medicamentos GLP-1 indicados para tratar la obesidad, la OPS pide reforzar la farmacovigilancia. 3 de marzo de 2026. Link
- La Prensa (Panamá). OMS advierte sobre falsificaciones de Ozempic, fármaco para la diabetes y obesidad. 22 de junio de 2024. Link
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Declaratory Order: Resolution of shortages of semaglutide injection products. 21 February 2025. Link
- Wilding JPH, et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(11):989-1002. PMID 33567185. Link
This is general information, not medical or legal advice. Rules vary by state and change. Confirm your own facts with counsel.