Check the offer / Briefing
Compare weight-care medicines by the finished product
Read the ingredient and brand, then check the product’s form: pill or injection. Compare an approved generic with a medicine made to order or still being studied.
US product status: as of September 26, 2026.
FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration, the US agency that reviews medicines.
Keep the names and product types separate
Read the ingredient and brand together
Ozempic and Wegovy are FDA-approved medicines containing semaglutide; Mounjaro and Zepbound have FDA approval and contain tirzepatide.
Check whether it is a pill or an injection
Semaglutide has approved tablets and injections. A brand name alone does not tell you which one is being offered.
Ask what the product is approved to treat
Use the current product label when discussing the reason for a prescription.
Ask what “custom-made” means
Compounding prepares or alters a medicine for an individual patient. These medicines do not receive FDA approval.
Compounded and generic are different descriptions
A generic medicine is an approved version based on a brand-name product.
As of September 26, 2026, no generic version of semaglutide or tirzepatide has approval for marketing in the US.
Generic liraglutide exists, including products with a weight-management indication, meaning an approved use for weight care.
FDA identifies calling a compounded product a generic, or saying it is the same as an approved medicine, as false or misleading.
Check what the shortage claim refers to
Semaglutide and tirzepatide injections were absent from FDA’s national shortage list in the September 26, 2026, check.
An empty shelf at one pharmacy differs from a medicine appearing on the national shortage list.
FDA may still treat a medicine made to order with an added vitamin as a copy of an approved medicine. Adding the vitamin alone does not remove the limits on making copies. The person writing the prescription must document why the change makes a significant difference for that patient.
An experimental name is not routine prescription care
Retatrutide has no FDA-approved US product as of September 26, 2026.
According to FDA, compounding with either retatrutide or cagrilintide is prohibited under federal law.
Ask the person treating you what the evidence shows and whether the exact medicine can legally be prescribed or made to order.
Reading notes
- FDA: compounded-product advertising claims
Read this when “generic” or “same results” is used to describe a custom-made product.
- FDA: unapproved weight medicines
This covers retatrutide, cagrilintide and differences in semaglutide ingredients.