Eli Lilly said it filed six lawsuits against U.S. businesses it accuses of illegally selling black-market retatrutide, escalating its campaign against unauthorized sellers before the experimental obesity drug wins regulatory approval. Retatrutide has not been approved anywhere in the world, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said pharmacies cannot lawfully compound it and urged consumers not to use it outside a clinical trial. Lilly said it has referred more than 200 entities to the FDA, the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general, law enforcement and professional licensing boards, and has reported more than 14,000 websites, advertisements, social media posts and product listings in over 100 countries. The company described the trade as an urgent public health crisis, saying many knockoff products are made by unregulated foreign manufacturers and marketed online, at wellness clinics and at medical spas. Lilly said illegal sellers have used dosage calculators and social media workarounds to reach consumers, while demand has surged after mid-stage trial results suggested retatrutide could outperform existing weight-loss drugs. Analysts expect the drug could generate more than $5.4 billion in annual sales for Lilly by 2030 if approved, but the black market risks undermining its reputation if safety problems emerge with counterfeit versions. Lilly plans to seek FDA approval early next year.