Ask for the exact reason
What if the medicine is compounded?
Compounding involves making or mixing medicine for an order; the medicine is not supplied as a drug company’s finished product.
These labels mean different things
Ask about
What the answer needs to cover
An approved product
FDA approval is the US drug agency’s review of a specific medicine for named uses.
A compounded medicine
Medicines mixed to order had no FDA approval in September 2026.
Before medicines mixed to order go on sale, FDA does not review them for safety, quality or whether they work.
A research label
FDA warned in September 2026 about unapproved drugs for people hidden behind research labels.
FDA said their quality was unknown and they could harm people.
Ask whether this is an approved drug-company product or medicine mixed to order. If mixed to order, ask why you need it and what rule allows the pharmacy to make it. “Personalised” does not explain either point.
The shortage story has changed
Injections of semaglutide had no entry on FDA’s national shortage list at the September 2026 check; neither did tirzepatide injections.
Liraglutide injections remained listed in shortage at that September 2026 check.
A national shortage listing differs from a local pharmacy being out of stock.
In May 2026, FDA proposed leaving semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide off the list of ingredients allowed for facilities that mix medicines in large batches.
That proposal still had no final decision at the September 2026 check.
Ask whether an ordinary pharmacy is mixing your medicine for you or a facility is making it in batches. Ask what rule allows that maker to use this ingredient for you.
A personal change needs a personal reason
Ordinary pharmacies cannot routinely copy a medicine already available from a drug company under US rules checked in September 2026.
Those rules allow an exception when the prescriber decides that altering the medicine makes an important difference for one specific patient.
Removing a dye because of a patient’s allergy is one possible reason to mix medicine to order. The prescriber must still explain how that change matters for this patient.
A cheaper price by itself does not establish that difference.
Ask what the change is, why it matters in your case and where that reason is written.
Check the ingredient name
The names semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate identify different ingredients from the semaglutide used in approved medicines.
FDA said it knew of no legal reason to use semaglutide sodium or semaglutide acetate in medicine mixed to order in September 2026.
Ask before weighing the price
- Which pharmacy makes this and which pharmacy sends it?
- How can I check the pharmacy’s licence?
- Where is the written information for this exact product?