Patients trying to buy semaglutide online have been scammed with orders that never arrive, products that are not semaglutide or are not medically suitable, the TGA says.

It follows a doctor’s warning to GPs to be careful when prescribing compounded versions of the drug for weight loss.

Earlier this week, the doctor shared her experience of sourcing semaglutide through a compounding pharmacy, in which she and her GP appeared to have been taken in by a scam.

The Queensland doctor told 6minutes she had been using semaglutide for weight management for two years, on and off due to supply issues.