Since the GLP-1 boom began, obesity drugs haven’t just been prescribed in clinics; patients have shopped for them. According to a November poll of 1,350 Americans, around one in four people taking GLP-1s were getting these medications from online providers, websites, medical spas or aesthetic medical centers — rather than from their primary care doctors or specialists.
Often, these outlets sell low-cost copycats of obesity medications — compounded versions made by pharmacies that measure and dissolve drug ingredients, creating their own injectable product.
Earlier this month, Hims & Hers, a major online provider of obesity medications, announced that it would be selling a compounded version of the Wegovy pill for about $100 a month less than the official version sold by Novo Nordisk. Hims pulled this product from the market two days later, after federal regulators raised concerns. The episode captures the trade-off that many Americans are facing: Cheaper access, but with fewer guarantees about what they’re actually getting.
So, we asked experts if it matters where you get your obesity drugs.
What is a copycat GLP-1 drug?
Federal law allows compounding when there’s a drug shortage or when a patient needs a special formulation. However, after several years of limited supply, the Food and Drug Administration says that the GLP-1 shortages are over. Since then, many medical spas and telehealth companies have continued to sell compounded drugs, relying on providers who say these personalized versions are necessary.
These companies tend to sell slightly altered versions (for example, mixing in ingredients like Vitamin B12 or the molecule N.A.D.+) or custom doses that pharmaceutical companies don’t sell. Critics argue that these modifications are superficial tweaks, and Novo Nordisk has sued companies that produce compounded semaglutide — the generic for Ozempic and Wegovy — “under the fake guise of personalization.”
Compounded GLP-1 drugs can be cheaper and easier to obtain, since many insurance companies balk at covering the more expensive brand-name versions. But these copycat drugs also come with more uncertainty, said Dr. Amy Sheer, an obesity medicine physician at University of Florida Health, since they are not approved by the F.D.A. While regulators do oversee the compounding process, the scrutiny is generally lighter than for approved drugs.
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What to Know Before Buying Weight Loss Drugs Online
