India, Aug. 5 -- The Centre has directed drug regulators across States and Union Territories to tighten surveillance over the supply chain and promotion of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs amid concerns over surrogate advertising and misleading awareness campaigns.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists only for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes in adults and for chronic weight management in adults with specified medical conditions.

She said these medicines can be dispensed only on the prescription of endocrinologists or internal medicine specialists, and the approved pr...