Ozempic: How Kazakhstan regulates advertising and online promotion of prescription medicines

The growing popularity of Ozempic has taken discussion of the prescription medicine beyond doctors’ offices and into social media and online marketplaces. The Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control has outlined the restrictions governing the advertising of prescription medicines in Kazakhstan, how the authorities respond to their unlawful promotion on social media and online marketplaces, and the regulatory tools available to monitor such activities. El.kz reports.

Prescription medicines cannot be promoted like ordinary consumer goods

In Kazakhstan, Ozempic is classified as a prescription-only medicine. This classification determines also the rules governing its promotion.

The Committee reiterates that advertising prescription medicines in the mass media is prohibited. The sale of such medicines without a doctor’s prescription is also not permitted.

These restrictions distinguish medicinal products from ordinary consumer goods. A prescription medicine cannot lawfully be presented to the public as a universal way to change one’s appearance, be promoted with promises of results without a medical assessment, or marketed in a way that encourages consumers to purchase it independently. Decisions regarding its use must be made within the framework of medical prescribing, rather than under the influence of advertising content.

At the same time, the official response does not state that every mention of Ozempic online automatically constitutes advertising. An informational article, a user’s personal account and commercial promotion may appear similar, but they serve different purposes. This distinction is particularly important in the digital environment, where advertising is often presented as personal experience, a or recommendation to followers.

Bloggers and Online Marketplaces Are Subject to Regulatory Oversight

The Committee reports that it regularly identifies and takes action against cases involving the sale of unregistered medicinal products and medical devices. Where unlawful advertising or offers of medicines not authorised for use are identified, the authority sends notices requesting the removal of the relevant information. Such notices may be addressed to online marketplaces, internet resources and bloggers.

Regulatory oversight therefore extends beyond pharmacy premises to digital platforms, where a single publication may simultaneously serve as advertising, a recommendation and a link to a seller.

Online Advertising May Be Associated with More Serious Violations

The issue of online promotion does not always end with advertising violations. The Committee separately notes that the sale of medicinal products that have not undergone state registration, lack verified quality or fail to comply with statutory requirements is prohibited in Kazakhstan.

Violations of the rules governing the advertising of medicines are subject to administrative liability under Part 1 of Article 426 of the Code of Administrative Offences. The manufacture, procurement, transportation, storage, sale, use and advertising of unregistered medicinal products or products not authorised for use fall under Part 3 of the same article. Unlawful pharmaceutical activity conducted without the required certificate or licence is governed by Part 1 of Article 424.

For consumers, this means that an attractive online post and the option to order a medicine do not, in themselves, establish that the offer is lawful. A single product listing may raise several distinct questions: Is the medicine registered? Has its quality been verified? Is the seller authorised to conduct pharmaceutical activities? Does the seller require a prescription?

A Single Administrative Report Does Not Reveal the Scale of the Market

When asked about enforcement measures taken in 2025–2026, the Committee reported only one administrative offence report drawn up in connection with the advertising of a medicine called Tirzetta. The response made no reference to administrative offence reports relating to Ozempic advertising.

This does not establish that Ozempic was not advertised online, nor does it mean that every detected violation resulted in an administrative offence report. Some content may have been removed following a formal notice, some cases may have escaped the regulator’s attention, and some publications may not have received a legal assessment during the period in question.

Furthermore, the document does not provide figures for the number of inspections conducted, notices issued or publications removed. The single figure reported therefore reflects only a specific outcome of administrative enforcement practice; it does not make it possible to assess how widespread the advertising of weight-loss medicines is.

The Main Data Gap: No Information on Sales

The Committee explicitly stated that it does not have data on the importation, volumes or sales of medicinal products.

It remains unknown how many packages of Ozempic are imported into the country, how many are sold through pharmacies and how many patients receive the medicine under a doctor’s prescription. The proportion of online offers in total sales also cannot be assessed. Without these indicators, it is impossible to compare the medicine’s popularity on social media with its actual circulation in the market.

What the Ministry’s Response Reveals

The Committee’s response indicates that the online promotion of prescription medicines is already being treated as a distinct area of regulatory oversight. The regulator’s remit extends beyond pharmacies to include online marketplaces, websites and bloggers.

Where unlawful advertising or offers involving unregistered medicines are identified, the authority may require the relevant information to be removed, while the legislation provides for administrative liability.

The official response confirms that the applicable rules are in place and response mechanisms have been established. However, publicly available statistics remain insufficient to assess how effectively these mechanisms operate in practice.