The first generic weight-loss drug hit SA in August — with many expected to follow. Will it be enough to kill the black market?

South Africa’s first generic semaglutide injection launched in August — and Sahpra is considering 13 more applications.

But the first generic is only about 18.5% cheaper than Ozempic, even though researchers estimate semaglutide could eventually be made for roughly R100–R200 a month.

High prices have helped fuel a black market in unregistered weight-loss drugs, where buyers may have no way of knowing what is actually in the injection.

And cheaper drugs won’t automatically mean wider access: 84% of South Africans rely on public healthcare, so generics will make little difference to many people unless the state buys them.

In today’s newsletter , our team asks if cheaper Ozempic will kill SA’s black market.

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It was a carnivorous lizard with a forked tongue, sharp claws and beady skin that helped rewire the appetite of millions of people around the world, making hunger something you can switch off with a few clicks and a jab.

In the 1990s, an American scientist by the name of John Eng identified a molecule in the venom of the Gila monster , which spends most of its life underground in North American deserts.

The reptile has an interesting approach to food.

It emerges from the darkness just a handful of times each year to feast, and is able to maintain its blood sugar for these long stretches between meals.

The molecule Eng found in the reptile acts a bit like the naturally occurring human hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 , or GLP-1.

It’s what slows digestion, makes us feel full and steadies our blood sugar, keeping our energy steady.

Eng thought it might somehow help people with diabetes.

He was right.