Care briefing
A prescription is not the whole answer.
A prescription is a clinician’s order for medicine. It does not settle every question about the product. Keep the care decision and the product check together.
FDA is short for Food and Drug Administration, the US agency that reviews medicines.
Separate the order from the product
Read sourcesWhat it tells you
Prescription
Federal law, as of September 2026, requires a licensed prescriber’s order before a patient can receive prescription medicine.
Product review
FDA approval records the agency’s review of a specific medicine for its stated use, as of September 2026.
A familiar name
Exact medicine
Ask for the medicine’s ingredient and brand names, and whether it is a tablet, an injection or another way of taking it.
Broad label
As of September 2026, the name “peptide therapy” does not tell you whether a medicine can legally be supplied.
A prescription names the prescriber. To check an approval claim, ask to see the FDA approval and label for the exact medicine.
Some peptides are reviewed medicines
As of September 2026, FDA approval covers semaglutide’s Ozempic and Wegovy products, plus tirzepatide’s Mounjaro and Zepbound products.
Ask what the medicine is approved to treat and whether that approval covers the tablet, injection or other version being offered.
As of September 2026, BPC-157, ipamorelin and retatrutide have no approved US product in the FDA records checked.
Lack of FDA approval alone does not tell you whether a pharmacy may legally mix the medicine. Ask the prescriber and pharmacy which law allows them to supply it. Have them show the rule and explain how it covers your exact medicine.
A drug number does not prove approval
The FDA’s medicine listings use an identifying number called the National Drug Code (NDC). Having an NDC does not establish FDA approval as of September 2026.
If a seller points to this number, ask them to open the FDA’s Drugs@FDA medicine search. Have them show the exact product name, its approval and its approved label.
Leave with a name you can check
What exactly is prescribed?
Ask for the name in writing, rather than a treatment nickname.
Why this product for this goal?
Ask what the clinician is trying to treat and what other options were considered.
Sources for this briefing
Choose the source for your question. For a doctor’s licence, use the state licence search. For a medicine’s approval, ask to see the FDA approval and approved label for that exact product.
US Code · Prescription requirement
Read the section on prescription orders.
Read the sourceFDA · Approval records
Use Drugs@FDA, the FDA’s medicine search, to look for the exact product’s approval and approved label.
Read the sourceFDA · Drug directory codes
The FDA explains why a medicine-listing number is not proof of approval.
Read the source