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Check the preparation

# Compounded is not another word for generic

Ask why this preparation is being proposed for you and which approved option it is being compared with.

Approval and generic availability checked September 26, 2026.

The description

What it means

An approved product

Semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide medicines have specific uses approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Ask for the exact label

Which product, form and use are you proposing?

An approved generic

Approved liraglutide generics exist. As of September 26, 2026, no semaglutide or tirzepatide generic can be sold in the United States.

Check the generic claim

What approval record covers this exact product?

A compounded preparation

For an individual order, a pharmacist or doctor makes up the compounded medicine.

Sold without FDA approval

The FDA does not approve it or check its safety, effect or quality before it is marketed.

## Why is a compounded option being proposed?

FDA advice is to reserve compounded drugs for medical needs that an approved drug cannot meet.

Ask what need applies to you, what change is being made and who will prepare the medicine. Ask for an explanation in ordinary words, not just a reference to a law section.

### The shortage explanation needs a date

In the September 26, 2026 check, neither semaglutide injection nor tirzepatide had a national shortage listing at FDA.

A local stock problem is not the same as that national shortage status.

Federal rules, as of September 26, 2026, restrict making medicines that are essentially copies of products already on sale. A patient’s name on a prescription does not, by itself, meet the exception. The prescriber must record the change made to the medicine for that patient. The record must explain why it makes a significant medical difference compared with the product already sold. Charging less, on its own, does not satisfy that requirement.

FDA’s position checked on September 26, 2026 was that adding a vitamin can still leave an injection classed as a copy. The exception still needs a documented medical reason for that patient.

## Ask about the ingredient, not just the name

Semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate are names for different chemical forms of semaglutide, called salts. Look for “sodium” or “acetate” after “semaglutide” on the ingredient list. In its position as of September 26, 2026, FDA described these as ingredients different from the semaglutide in approved products. It knew of no legal basis for using them in compounded medicines.

Ask for the ingredient name in writing. If the explanation stays unclear, leave the question open and discuss an approved option with the prescriber.

Why the product distinction matters These are dated federal positions. They do not certify a particular preparation or decide a person’s treatment.

FDA: how compounding works

FDA: concerns about weight-loss copies

FDA: shortage and copy policy

## Put the advert beside the answer

Check claims in the offer

Care questions

This guide helps you find your footing in care; it does not treat patients or fill orders.

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