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Plain-language guide

Care briefing

# Weight care: the product matters.

If you seek care for weight, get the medicine’s exact name and find out whether you would receive a tablet, an injection or another version.

FDA is short for Food and Drug Administration, the US agency that reviews medicines.

A generic medicine is an approved copy of a brand-name medicine; compounding follows a different process.

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![A solid pale stone block beside layered translucent sheets on a black surface.](/assets/media/materials.webp)

Compare exact products before comparing headline offers.

Source-linked

## Reviewed product or compounded version

[Read sources](/briefings/weight-care-brief/#source-file)

Names you may hear

#### Reviewed medicines

As of September 2026, FDA approval covers semaglutide’s Ozempic and Wegovy products, plus tirzepatide’s Mounjaro and Zepbound products.

#### Compounded versions

As of September 2026, the FDA calls it misleading to say a mixture is the same as a reviewed medicine.

Calling it generic

#### Reviewed generic

As of September 2026, neither semaglutide nor tirzepatide has an FDA-approved generic for lawful sale in the US.

#### Compounded version

As of September 2026, describing a compounded product as a generic of a reviewed medicine is misleading, according to the FDA.

A pharmacy-made mixture is different from an approved generic copy.

## Check the rules before accepting a copy

The FDA allowed a temporary period of copying semaglutide injections after the national shortage ended. That period ended in 2025.

As of September 2026, the FDA’s national shortage list includes neither semaglutide nor tirzepatide.

As of September 2026, a pharmacy’s lack of stock does not by itself establish a nationally listed shortage.

As of September 2026, federal law limits regular compounding of products that are essentially copies of commercially available medicines.

As of September 2026, the 503A copy rule allows a change that the prescriber judges makes a significant difference for a named patient.

For example, a patient may need a mixture without a dye they are allergic to, or a different version because they cannot swallow a tablet.

Ask what is changed and why it matters for your health. The pharmacy must still meet the other compounding rules; a doctor’s decision about the change does not settle all of them.

## A vitamin does not settle the question

As of September 2026, the FDA says adding a vitamin can still leave a compounded product essentially a copy.

Federal law bars compounding of retatrutide or cagrilintide according to the FDA as of September 2026.

Ask whether the exact medicine can legally be supplied to you, and have the clinician and pharmacist explain why, before discussing a price offer.

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.

FDA · Marketing claims

The FDA describes misleading claims of sameness or generic status.

[Read the source](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-telehealth-companies-what-know-when-promoting-compounded-drugs)

FDA · Shortages and copies

The dated policy updates explain how shortage changes affect compounding.

[Read the source](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize)

FDA · Unreviewed weight medicines

The FDA states its position on retatrutide, cagrilintide and other products.

[Read the source](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss)

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