Does a phrase borrow approval from something else?
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has not approved a compounded medicine just because it contains an ingredient from an approved product.
The FDA describes claims of FDA approval for compounded medicines as false or misleading. It also calls claims false or misleading when they say a made-to-order medicine is proven to match an approved medicine’s results.
- Ask whether the claim refers to the exact finished medicine.
- Ask for the evidence behind any promise of the same result.
- Ask who made the medicine instead of inferring it from the service’s name.
Is it labelled only for research?
The FDA cautions against weight-drug products marketed for human use despite research labels: their quality remains unknown, and they could be harmful.
A label saying “for research” does not make a product suitable for treatment.
- Look for an answer about the actual medicine’s status.
- Ask who will assess your health and decide whether to write a prescription for an appropriate medicine.
- Avoid treating a product guide as a medical consultation.
Can you identify the people and the pharmacy?
Federal law makes it unlawful to supply prescription medicine when a valid prescription is missing.
The FDA has found false pharmacy details on some compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide labels.
- Ask for the prescriber’s name and the pharmacy’s registered name.
- Match those names to the relevant board records.
- Ask how to reach the clinician after the medicine arrives.
- Treat an unanswered question as a gap, not as an agreement.