Retatrutide isn't Ozempic, and customs knows the difference

Retatrutide is a weight-loss peptide sold online by "research" sellers, sometimes alongside tirzepatide. It isn't an approved medicine in the US, Canada, New Zealand or Singapore. At the border, that difference matters a lot.

Approved pens like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro can usually come with you. Retatrutide usually can't.

Same kind of drug, different legal status

Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) are approved prescription medicines. Customs treats them like other prescribed medicine: bring a sensible supply and proof it's yours.

Retatrutide isn't approved. So customs treats it as an unapproved drug, whatever the vial's label says.

Country by country

United States. Brand-name GLP-1 pens are FDA-approved, so visitors can bring about a 90-day supply with a prescription or a doctor's letter. Retatrutide is not approved, and the FDA says importing an unapproved drug is illegal, even for personal use. In March 2026 the FDA sent a warning letter to a seller of retatrutide, saying its "Research Use Only" labels didn't change the fact that it was selling drugs for human use.

Canada. GLP-1 pens are ordinary prescription drugs: a 90-day supply or one course of treatment, whichever is less, in labelled packaging. Health Canada's April 2026 advisory lists retatrutide among unauthorized peptides it has seized, and says unauthorized drug products are illegal in Canada.

New Zealand. Medsafe names retatrutide among peptides that are prescription medicines, and says it's unlawful to import them without authorisation. A prescribed medicine can come with you: up to 3 months' supply, with your prescription or a doctor's letter, declared on arrival.

Singapore. Singapore's health regulator, HSA, says no regulator, itself included, has approved retatrutide as a medicine, and that a "research use only" label should be treated as a warning sign. Travellers can bring up to 3 months' supply of a medicine only if it was lawfully prescribed to them at home, with the prescription and the pharmacy label. A vial bought online doesn't meet those conditions.

Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide

There's a middle ground: compounded or non-brand versions of approved drugs. For the US, our data notes that these aren't FDA-approved products, so they can fall under the stricter unapproved-drug rules and should expect more scrutiny than a brand-name pen.

Before you pack

• Brand-name pen, prescribed to you: bring the prescription, keep it in the pharmacy packaging, and stay within the supply limit.
• Vial bought online: if it's retatrutide or another unapproved peptide, leave it at home for the US, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.

More detail: flying with Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro and peptides like BPC-157 at the border.