Startup Pushing Weight-Loss Drug Ozempic Under Fire for Shady Ads

A weight-loss startup that has surged in popularity is under scrutiny for its use of fake testimonials to hawk the drug Ozempic. The Wall Street Journal reports that NextGen pulled some of its ads after the newspaper asked questions about featuring before-and-after photos of people who were not actually customers, its failure to include required FDA warnings, and other issues. NextMed was founded by a 2021 University of Pennsylvania grad and had outpaced competitors in web traffic by promising easy access to the drug—which some customers say didn’t happen.