Doctors and the Food and Drug Administration are raising concerns about compounded GLP-1 medicines, which are often sold as lower-cost alternatives to branded treatments for diabetes and weight loss. The issue matters because these versions are not FDA-approved, meaning their safety, quality and effectiveness are not reviewed in the same way as authorised medicines.

Compounded drugs can be appropriate for individual patients whose needs cannot be met by an approved product, but regulators say they should not be marketed as equivalent to brand-name GLP-1 medicines. Concerns include incorrect dosing, uncertain ingredients or storage, misleading advertising and limited medical oversight through some telehealth services; demand has grown partly because approved drugs can be expensive or difficult to obtain.