Check the claims
Compare the product paths
An approved medicine, a custom preparation, and a research-labelled product lead to different questions. Read their differences together.
Begin with the product name
The US agency that reviews drugs is the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. It reviews approved medicines. Medicines made to order have not had that review. FDA warns about research-labelled products sold as treatment. These statements were checked on September 26, 2026.
Compounded means made to order. Research-labelled means the seller describes a product as intended for research.
Shared starting point: name the exact product.
Approved medicine
FDA reviewed the named medicine for a specific use.
A licensed clinician called the prescriber issues the medicine order known as a prescription.
Ask which product and form the prescriber is proposing.
Compounded preparation
The custom medicine has no FDA approval. Before it is offered, FDA does not check its safety, quality, or whether it works.
A licensed pharmacist or doctor can prepare it, or a facility registered with FDA can make it under separate rules. Each must meet the legal requirements for that medicine.
Ask why an approved medicine cannot meet the need.
Research-labelled product
A research label does not provide FDA approval for human treatment.
FDA warns that research-labelled GLP-1 products marketed to consumers have unknown quality and may be harmful.
A research label does not replace a health assessment. Ask the person giving care about the exact medicine they propose.
Focus: full comparison.
Keep the checks separate
A licence tells you about the person giving care. A permit tells you about the pharmacy. FDA approval tells you about the named medicine. These are separate checks.
Ask the person ordering the medicine: Has FDA reviewed this exact product? Why is it proposed for me? Who supplies it?