Ask what makes this medicine different.

What compounding means

Compounding is when a pharmacist or doctor mixes or changes a medicine, rather than handing over a finished factory product.

Safety, quality and treatment benefit go unchecked by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before a compounded medicine is sold.

Compounded medicines lack US FDA approval; this legal point was checked September 26, 2026.

A drug prepared to order can fill a need left unmet by a finished approved drug.

The legal limits still apply.

A lower price is a separate question

US rules limit making copies of medicines already sold; a lower price alone does not justify a copy for you, as checked on September 26, 2026.

The exception is for a change that the person prescribing identifies as a meaningful difference for that individual patient.

Write down why you need the changed medicine, as explained by whoever would prescribe it. A cheaper bill does not answer that question.

FDA’s national list showed no shortage entry for either semaglutide injection or tirzepatide injection on September 26, 2026.

Local empty shelves cannot decide national shortage status, which depends on FDA’s list; that status affects whether copies may be made.

FDA’s position as of September 26, 2026 was that retatrutide and cagrilintide cannot be used for compounding under US federal law.