05-05-2025
Pharmacy board suspends another Ohio weight loss clinic's license
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 24: In this photo illustration, the injectable weight-loss medication Wegovy is available at New City Halstead Pharmacy on April 24, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 3 million people with Medicare could be eligible for the difficult-to-find and expensive weight-loss drug under new guidance which can cover the medication for patients who are obese or those who have a history of heart disease and are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. (Photo Illustration by)
Ohio weight-loss clinics continue to be disciplined over alleged unsafe practices and false claims that they pass regulatory muster.
The actions come as demand skyrockets for drugs similar to those that go by the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy notified Slimbolic Weight Loss and Med Spa in Beavercreek that its license to distribute dangerous drugs was summarily suspended. The notice was accompanied by a 29-page document listing scores of alleged violations.
They included naming as the person responsible for the clinic a Maine doctor who had never been there, improper recordkeeping, storing adulterated drugs with those that weren't, and improperly labeled drugs. Pharmacy board inspectors said workers at the clinic were also compounding drugs without the proper supervision and that they were doing so in a non-sterile environment.
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The order said 'there is clear and convincing evidence of a danger of immediate and serious harm to others due to Slimbolic's method used to possess or distribute dangerous drugs, and the method of prescribing dangerous drugs used by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs who holds a terminal distributor license or practices in the employ of or under contract with a terminal distributor.'
A call placed to the clinic was not returned.
The board of pharmacy has been cracking down on weight-loss clinics as the clamor for GLP-1 drugs has risen. They facilitate weight loss by slowing gastric emptying. The resultant weight loss can ease impacts of obesity, including diabetes and heart disease.
But the pharmacy board has reported numerous abuses by Ohio spas and weight-loss clinics over the past year.
In January, the board suspended licenses to distribute dangerous drugs held by clinics in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. It accused them of giving patients weight-loss drugs that were labeled 'for research use only' and that came from 'an unlicensed out-of-state-seller.'
In March, it suspended the license of Rejuv and Renew Wellness Spa, which has clinics in Maineville and Franklin, both in Warren County between Cincinnati and Dayton. The board said the spa was injecting patients with 'counterfeit' Botox that the operator said she'd gotten from a California dentist she wouldn't identify.
In a related matter, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recently warned 14 spas 'to stop making false or misleading claims about their versions of popular weight-loss drugs.'
'People deserve clear and accurate information about the medications they're putting in their bodies,' Yost said in a written statement. 'We're reminding businesses that being truthful isn't just a good business practice — it's the law.'
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