FDA Must Stop Online Compounders Before Patients Get Hurt
Online pharmacies are exploiting patients with knock-off GLP-1 drugs that are untested, unsafe, and illegal. These compounded products are being marketed as containing the “same active ingredient as Ozempic or Wegovy” or as including “clinically proven ingredients”—claims that are outright false. Yet, patients are being misled into believing these drugs are safe and effective.
A January 2025 study found that many websites selling compounded GLP-1s fail to disclose that these products are not FDA-approved, with some even falsely labeling them as “generics.” Many of these drugs are made from active pharmaceutical ingredients sourced from illegal foreign suppliers—primarily in China—posing a serious, avoidable threat to patient safety.
The FDA’s recent warning letters are a step in the right direction, but they barely scratch the surface. Mass compounding of GLP-1s is out of control, and patients are paying the price while mass compounders profit. The FDA already has the authority to act and must follow through with aggressive enforcement: requiring compounders that operate like manufacturers to register as such, cracking down on telehealth schemes disguised as “personalization,” and penalizing repeat offenders.
Patients deserve to know that when the FDA acts, it acts decisively. Until enforcement is consistent and visible, unscrupulous compounders will continue exploiting regulatory weaknesses, putting profits ahead of patient safety, and endangering lives.
For more on the threat compounded GLP-1s pose to patient safety, see CMPI’s report.
Online pharmacies are exploiting patients with knock-off GLP-1 drugs that are untested, unsafe, and illegal. These compounded products are being marketed as containing the “same active ingredient as Ozempic or Wegovy” or as including “clinically proven ingredients”—claims that are outright false. Yet, patients are being misled into believing these drugs are safe and effective.
A January 2025 study found that many websites selling compounded GLP-1s fail to disclose that these products are not FDA-approved, with some even falsely labeling them as “generics.” Many of these drugs are made from active pharmaceutical ingredients sourced from illegal foreign suppliers—primarily in China—posing a serious, avoidable threat to patient safety.
The FDA’s recent warning letters are a step in the right direction, but they barely scratch the surface. Mass compounding of GLP-1s is out of control, and patients are paying the price while mass compounders profit. The FDA already has the authority to act and must follow through with aggressive enforcement: requiring compounders that operate like manufacturers to register as such, cracking down on telehealth schemes disguised as “personalization,” and penalizing repeat offenders.
Patients deserve to know that when the FDA acts, it acts decisively. Until enforcement is consistent and visible, unscrupulous compounders will continue exploiting regulatory weaknesses, putting profits ahead of patient safety, and endangering lives.
For more on the threat compounded GLP-1s pose to patient safety, see CMPI’s report.
