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The Party Is Almost Over for GLP-1 Compounders

January 27, 2025

Shortages is that they don’t last forever, and that applies to compounded weight loss meds. After some legal wrangling, the FDA pulled tirzepatide from its shortage list in December, giving compounders a short grace period to wrap things up. That means people taking the copycats will soon need to switch to the name-brand version, find another drug, or stop taking anything altogether. The party is over.

“We all knew when semaglutide went into shortage and then when tirzepatide went into shortage that this was not a permanent status. Eventually, those drugs would be available in quantities sufficient enough to meet demand,” said Scott Brunner, the CEO of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, an industry group. Since October, when the FDA first determined the shortage was resolved, they’ve been warning members that “the end was near,” he said.

The compounders aren’t looking forward to packing it in. The Outsourcing Facilities Association, an industry group that represents compounders that produce large batches of medications, has sued to overturn the FDA’s decision. Eli Lilly has since joined the FDA as a defendant to try to make sure the shortage stays resolved — it wants people taking and paying for its Monjauro and Zepbound, not cheaper copies.

There’s a lot of money on the line when it comes to GLP-1s, and the parties involved know it. Compounders have found a big revenue stream they don’t want to easily give up. At the same time, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have market exclusivity ( no generics are allowed) for a limited amount of time and they want to make as much money as they can before it runs out.


Dieters are facing a lot of confusion, changes, and, potentially, interruptions in treatment. The transition period will not be seamless.Many providers have begun to switch patients from tirzepatide to semaglutide or, when they can afford it, to the brand-name drug. The telehealth company Ro, which in the past offered compounded tirzepatide, in December announced it would be offering single-dose vials of Zepbound to patients with obesity. (It comes at a lower price point than the medication when delivered in an injection pen.).

Other compounders and telehealth companies may try to find work-arounds and loopholes, especially once semaglutide is no longer in shortage. Much of this depends on what’s determined to be “essentially” a copy of the GLP-1 in question, meaning it’s too close to see it as anything other than a duplicate. The question now becomes what counts as too close a copy to be allowed and whether a small modification is really different. Some compounders might try to add vitamin B12 to their drugs or deliver it in oral form and argue that it’s OK.

Further complicating things, the new presidential administration means new leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA, and Donald Trump has picked Ozempic-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the health department. In January, Hims & Hers donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.


In the short term, this will be be a mess for dieters.

Need More Insights Into The Weight Loss Market and Its Competitors?

Then check out Marketdata’s 50+ weight loss market research reports on this dynamic market, published since 1989. Marketdata LLC, Tampa, FL, tracks ALL segments of the U.S. weight loss market — retail diet products, meal replacements, OTC diet pills, MLM programs, commercial programs, medical clinics, franchises, Rx weight loss drugs, VLCD programs, bariatricians, diet books, health clubs, diet foods and soft drinks, dieter demographics and more. We also perform custom research projects, do consulting, assist MDs and others to set up a medical weight loss program, and John LaRosa, industry expert for 35 years, does conference calls. See www.marketdataenterprises.com for our reports and services, or call 813-971-8080 for details, proposals.

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