Semaglutide for weight loss has hit the mainstream, and the rapidly growing popularity of medications like Ozempic and Wegovy has created a demand that is straining supply chains. According to one study conducted by the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin, there was a 442 percent increase in semaglutide prescription fills from January 2021 to December 2023.
The increased demand and lack of supply have caused the FDA to put Ozempic and Wegovy on the health agency’s drug shortage list. This means compounding pharmacies can make generic versions of the drug to help patients receive semaglutide during the shortage. This has been, for better or worse, a boon for access as compound semaglutide is significantly cheaper than Ozempic and Wegovy, which cost nearly $1,000 a month and is regularly not covered by health insurance. The semaglutide shortage has opened a massive market for less expensive compound semaglutides.
Companies like Hims and Hers Health are trying to capitalize on the compound semaglutide market, investing between $14 to $16 million on a Super Bowl Commercial this year. Compounding pharmacies play a key role in helping patients and doctors access semaglutide when it is unavailable or unaffordable.
However, using them is not without risk, as compounding pharmacies and companies they work with are not subject to the same FDA scrutiny as FDA-approved drugs. You must protect yourself if you buy compound semaglutide from a compounding pharmacy or buy them online. Here are a few things you should do to protect yourself from shady people selling you harmful drugs.
Only work with FDA-approved compounding pharmacies
If you are going to take compound semaglutide, it is essential that you know what compound pharmacy it is being produced in. Your compound pharmacy must have a 503a or 503b designation by the FDA. No compound drugs are FDA-approved, but a 503A or 503B designation is confirmation that the FDA and State pharmacy boards audit the pharmacy. If they have that certification, it means they are compliant with FDA standards and are keeping to a higher standard.
503A compound pharmacies are designated to create compound semaglutides for particular patients. Your medical provider sends them a script, and they make that medication on-site specifically for you.
503B compound pharmacies are outsourcing facilities allowed to manufacture large batches of compound medication for healthcare facilities. These types of facilities are where large companies that sell compound semaglutide online get it from.
The FDA designation means consumers can look up any 503AB compounding pharmacy to ensure it has not failed audits or committed violations. You can also track any inspections or recalls from any FDA-approved compound pharmacy in the United States at the FDA website.
Do not purchase compound semaglutide from any source that can’t verify the 503AB compound pharmacy it sources from. Check the FDA website to confirm that the compound pharmacy you buy from or the company you buy from is not under investigation for serious violations. Always protect yourself and do your research if you are not using the FDA-approved weight loss drugs.
Work with attentive medical providers
There are a lot of places where you can get semaglutide and compound semaglutide. There seem to be countless weight loss clinics, medical spas, and websites selling weight loss treatments. None of these providers are necessarily bad, but you must work with someone who takes your treatment and oversight of their business seriously.
Anyone you work with should be able to give you a certificate of analysis showing that the compound semaglutide they use was tested for purity, safety, and efficacy. They should also be monitoring your treatment and easy to get ahold of to ensure you aren’t dealing with any negative side effects. This applies if you take Ozempic, Wegovy, or the compound version.
For some reason, many patients and providers treat these treatments more like vitamins than the highly potent drugs they are. Monitoring your progress and symptoms on semaglutide is essential because symptoms are not innocuous. Patients do experience side effects such as loss of bone density, extreme abdominal pain, and severe constipation. We would never treat heart disease without monitoring the patient, but for some reason, we do this with weight loss and diabetes treatment.
Work with a medical professional who wants to see you often and monitor your progress. It should not be hard to get ahold of your doctor or medical provider; they should be available to hold your hand through treating your weight loss. Semaglutide can be a challenging treatment for many patients, and you should have someone who will take care of you during the process. For example, my patients can text me and get an answer to a question they have or talk about a concern. I don’t expect every medical provider to give that much access, but it shouldn’t take more than a day or two to get a response.
Oversight is key and requires an actual professional relationship with your medical provider. Because of this, I would be very cautious about purchasing compound semaglutide online. The oversight and in-person professional relationship with your provider is just not there when buying compounding drugs online.
Semaglutide is an effective weight loss treatment, which is why demand for it is so high. This demand makes the FDA-approved versions of these drugs prohibitively expensive for many. Compound semaglutide can play a key role in making this weight loss treatment more affordable, but consumers must protect themselves from shady actors looking to make a quick buck. Only use compound semaglutide on the recommendation of a trusted medical professional who sources their product from an FDA-approved 503AB compound pharmacy.
Tanna Donalson, P.A.-C. is the Owner/CEO of Redbud Medical Spa in Denver, Colorado. Donalson has been practicing medicine for over a decade and is an expert in medical weight loss.
