The attorneys general say an FDA import program may leave an opening for improperly sourced ingredients to enter the United States.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorney General Gentner Drummond has joined an Alabama-led coalition warning that Chinese pharmaceutical suppliers may be exploiting a federal import system governing ingredients used in compounded GLP-1 drugs.
The Sept. 17 letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio was signed by Drummond and 19 other state attorneys general.
“This exploitation not only poses risks to the health and safety of consumers, but it constitutes a national security risk,” Drummond said Monday.
A gap in the Green List
At issue is an FDA “Green List” of foreign manufacturers whose products are excluded from recommended detention without physical examination because they appear to comply with federal manufacturing requirements.
The coalition cited the case of Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., a Chinese company once included on the list. An FDA warning letter said Harbin relabeled semaglutide ingredients obtained from outside suppliers, changed manufacturing and retest dates and identified itself as the manufacturer.
The FDA said one batch came from a facility outside the Green List and was relabeled in what the agency said may have been an attempt to circumvent import safeguards. Two batches distributed in the United States were recalled, and Harbin was removed from the list.
Coalition raises fentanyl question
The letter also cited an Axios report that some Chinese companies associated with fentanyl-precursor sales had entered the market for cosmetic and weight-loss peptides.
It does not establish that those companies supplied the GLP-1 ingredients at issue. The coalition asked federal officials to investigate whether such connections exist and improve information sharing with state attorneys general.
