The FDA is warning people to avoid using compounded medicines as substitutes for the popular weight loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy.
Compounded medicines are not FDA-approved, but are allowed to be made during an official drug shortage. Ozempic and Wegovy are currently on the FDA’s shortage list, and the federal agency has received reports of people experiencing “adverse events” after using compounded versions of the drugs.
Agency officials are concerned that the compounded versions may contain ingredients that sound like the brand name drugs’ active ingredient, semaglutide, but are different because the ingredients are in salt form.
“Patients should be aware that some products sold as ‘semaglutide’ may not contain the same active ingredient as FDA-approved semaglutide products and may be the salt formulations, the FDA warning stated. “Products containing these salts, such as semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate, have not been shown to be safe and effective.”
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