Posts Tagged ‘compounding pharmacies’

FDA Flips the Switch Again on Tirzepatide Compounding

October 17, 2024 — On again, off again. With impressive nimbleness, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reversed course on tirzepatide compounding in large-scale pharmacy facilities. On October 2, they told those facilities to knock it off. Late last week, the agency told them to carry on – for now. FDA was responding to a lawsuit filed by compounding […]

The Cost of Shamelessness in Healthcare

October 13, 2024 — We are witnessing quite a number of battles unfolding and harming innocent people in diverse settings. They range from actual wars to political contests to the lucrative business of healthcare. A common thread in all of these situations is shamelessness in pursuing money, power, or both. That shamelessness is especially troubling when it pops up […]

From No to Maybe on Compounded Obesity Medicines

August 17, 2024 — Never is a long time and repeatedly telling people NO can be a futile exercise. Thus, doctors are landing somewhere between no and maybe on the use of compounded obesity medicines. Some are seeing a rationale for for using them while others remain resolute in opposition to them. Shauna Levy is an obesity medicine physician […]

The Unfortunate Gray Market for Obesity Medicines

July 22, 2024 — A gray market for obesity medicines is thriving. The quality of the products in this market range from reasonable to sketchy to utterly unreliable. But millions of people are taking a chance on them. Big pharma companies innovated to bring fully vetted formulations of important medicines to market, spending billions of dollars to do it. […]

Compounded Obesity Medicines Signal Distress

June 1, 2024 — This is a problem of human mistakes. Compounding pharmacies are exploiting the failure of pharmaceutical companies to meet the scale of need for effective obesity medicines. So people with a serious medical need for these medicines face a hideous choice. Suffer without them or take a chance on dodgy compounded products. The fact that this […]

Disrupting the Obesity Status Quo Is Exquisitely Uncomfortable

May 5, 2024 — “Drug compounding with semaglutide and tirzepatide is a public health emergency,” said a respected obesity medicine physician to us this week. They were right. Most of the compounded drugs people encounter when they are desperate to obtain these life-changing medicines are sketchy at best. This week, FDA announced the arrest of a TikToker for selling […]

From Boom to Bust in Compounded GLP-1 Medicines

January 16, 2024 — If you wonder why the Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine Association, and the Obesity Society all warn against using compounded versions of GLP-1 medicines for obesity, consider the boom and bust story of ACA Pharmacy in Nashville, Tennessee. After semaglutide went into shortage in 2022, it began doing a booming business with a compounded version […]

Buyer Beware: Compounded and Fake Semaglutide

January 9, 2024 — Unfortunately, we are facing the new year with a great demand for advanced new obesity medicines and an inadequate supply. On the FDA drug shortages website, all strengths of the Wegovy brand, except 2.4 mg, have limited availability. Both Wegovy and Ozempic are “currently in shortage.” This opens the door for compounded semaglutide and a […]

What Will Be Hot or Not in 2024 for Obesity and Health

January 2, 2024 — The year we just finished saw quite a pivot in the science and policy we cover here. So what will we pivot toward in 2024? What will leave us cold? Here are our best educated guesses for what will be hot or not in 2024 for obesity and health. #1 Hot: Pricing Drug prices will […]

What Happens When Pharma Can’t Supply? Chaos

December 30, 2023 — FDA tells us we have a problem – actually two of them, and they’re connected to a third. First, counterfeit versions of the Ozempic brand of semaglutide injections are finding their way into pharmacies. These fakes present an inherent risk of problems with safety and effectiveness. Second, compounded versions of semaglutide are selling in some […]