A June 2025 Reuters investigation details a fast-growing "gray market" in which Americans import bulk semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide, and cagrilintide powders from Chinese vendors — labeled as research materials — and reconstitute them into injectable weight-loss drugs at home for roughly one-tenth of the brand-name price. Buyers coordinate on Reddit and Telegram (one group, StairwayToGray, surpassed 21,000 members), pooling money for third-party purity testing. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk call the practice dangerous and illicit, and 38 state attorneys general asked the FDA to intervene. One profiled user overdosed after a self-dosing miscalculation, highlighting the absence of medical oversight.