The U.S. medicine status below is as of September 26, 2026.
Compare the product descriptions
A product reviewed for a named use
[a]FDA approval reflects a completed Food and Drug Administration review of that particular product for its particular use.
An approval reflects evidence that the product works for that use and is safe enough for it.
Ozempic and Wegovy contain the medicine semaglutide; both have FDA-approved uses.
For adults with type 2 diabetes, Ozempic has approval to help control blood sugar.
Wegovy has approval for weight loss and for keeping the lost weight off.
Mounjaro and Zepbound contain the medicine tirzepatide; they too have FDA-approved uses.
Blood sugar control for people who have type 2 diabetes is an approved use for Mounjaro.
Zepbound has approval for weight loss and long-term weight control.
Ask which product and use the doctor means. A familiar drug name is not enough to identify what a pharmacy will send.
A product made to order
[b]Compounding means preparing a medicine to order, done by a pharmacy or a doctor.
A compounded product can serve a need that no approved medicine can meet.
A made-to-order medicine may be legal when the compounding rules are met, but it has no FDA approval.
For medicine made for one named patient by a pharmacy, the law requires a valid prescription, a state-licensed pharmacy and a licensed pharmacist. Other rules also apply.
FDA does not review how well a compounded medicine works, or its quality and safety, before patients get that medicine.
Ask what need calls for this product instead of an approved option. Ask which rule lets the pharmacy use this ingredient, and whether the copy rules below apply.
A chemical labelled for research
[c]FDA warns against research-labelled products sold as weight-loss drugs for people: their quality is unknown, and their use may cause harm.
Calling a product research material does not make its sale for human treatment a lawful care route.
That is a different situation from a prescription filled through a licensed pharmacy.
When may a pharmacy make its own version?
[d]A copy here means a made-to-order version that is essentially the same as a medicine already sold.
When semaglutide and tirzepatide injections were in short supply, pharmacies could make copies under the shortage rules.
FDA's national list for medicine shortages, as of September 26, 2026, contained neither tirzepatide injections nor semaglutide injections.
With the shortages over, pharmacies no longer have that general permission to make copies.
For a named patient's medicine, a pharmacy faces legal limits on making those copies repeatedly or in large amounts.
The prescriber is the health professional writing the prescription.
An individual exception can apply when the prescriber decides that changing the made-to-order medicine makes a medically important difference for that patient.
The change is to the medicine, compared with the ready-made version, and it must matter for that person's health.
A dye allergy can be a reason for a made-to-order medicine when that dye is in the ready-made product.
Lower cost alone does not meet that test.
Ask how the medicine will be changed for you and why that change matters to your health. Ask how the pharmacy meets the other rules, too.
Retatrutide and cagrilintide are drug ingredients; neither is in an FDA-approved medicine for diabetes, weight loss or any other condition.
FDA says neither has been shown to be safe and to work for any health condition.
FDA says that, as of September 26, 2026, using retatrutide or cagrilintide in medicines made to order is not allowed under national law.
Keep this in mind
Compare the exact products. A prescription, an approved product and a research label answer different questions.
Read the claims that need a closer lookPage notes
- [a]
- [b]
- [c]
- [d]