Approach online weight-loss drug offers with skepticism | Opinion
Wayne Winegarden
Guest columnist
July 22, 2026, 7:25 a.m. CT
If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen the ads
Lose weight fast. Get access to GLP-1s. Skip the doctor’s office. Delivered right to your door
For millions of Americans looking to lose weight, the promise is understandably appealing. These remarkable drugs, which include Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, have become some of the most sought-after medicines in the country, helping patients lose significant weight and better manage chronic disease
But there is something many consumers don’t realize when they click “buy.”
In many cases, the drug being advertised isn’t the FDA-approved medication at all. Instead, consumers may be purchasing a compounded version — essentially a copycat product that has not gone through the same approval process as the original drug
That distinction matters
Compounded medications serve an important purpose when pharmacists create customized medicines for individual patients with unique medical needs. What they were never intended to be is a mass-market substitute sold through aggressive online advertising campaigns
Yet that’s exactly what happened during the nationwide shortage of GLP-1 medicines. Regulators temporarily allowed compounded versions to help address supply shortages. But the shortage has ended, yet many sellers continue marketing compounded GLP-1 products online
The FDA has repeatedly warned consumers about safety concerns associated with some of these products, including dosing mistakes, improper storage, questionable sourcing of ingredients and misleading marketing claims
These aren’t technical regulatory issues. They are problems that can affect what consumers are putting into their bodies and whether the medication will work as intended
The risks are not hypothetical. As of this spring, the FDA had received nearly 1,000 reports of adverse events associated with compounded semaglutide products and nearly 750 reports involving compounded tirzepatide products
Then there’s an even more troubling example
Some online sellers are already marketing compounded versions of retatrutide, an experimental obesity treatment that has not yet been approved by the FDA. Think about that for a moment. Consumers are being offered copycat versions of a drug before regulators have even finished evaluating the original product’s safety and effectiveness
In effect, patients are being asked to trust manufacturers selling versions of a medicine that has not completed the rigorous testing Americans expect from prescription drugs
That’s a risk no patient should have to take
There is another concern that consumers may not immediately see
A new Pacific Research Institute study estimates that widespread sales of unauthorized GLP-1 copycats could ultimately mean four or five fewer new medicines are developed in the future
That may sound like an abstract statistic. But imagine if one of those lost medicines could have been the next breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart disease or obesity itself
Developing a new medicine takes years of research, billions of dollars and a high likelihood of failure. If unauthorized copycats are allowed to replace approved medicines, the incentives to invest in future breakthroughs inevitably weaken. It’s about ensuring that tomorrow’s lifesaving treatments are still being developed
The good news is that federal regulators have begun cracking down on companies marketing unauthorized GLP-1 copycats. But enforcement can only do so much
Consumers should approach online offers that seem too good to be true with healthy skepticism. Before purchasing a weight-loss medication online, ask whether it is the FDA-approved version, whether it comes from a licensed
GLP-1 medicines are among the most promising medical advances in decades. Americans deserve confidence that the medication arriving at their doorstep is exactly what it claims to be
Wayne Winegarden is director of the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the Pacific Research Institute
(Editor’s note: The views expressed in this column are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Oklahoman.)
