Understand what made to order means for your offer
The FDA's compounding explanation states that made-to-order drugs have no FDA approval. As of September 26, 2026, made-to-order drugs had no FDA review before sale for safety, quality, or how well the drugs work.
- A made-to-order medicine can meet a health need that an approved product does not meet. As of September 26, 2026, each semaglutide offer still has to meet the rules for making it legally.
- A generic is a brand-name medicine's copy that the FDA has approved. As of September 26, 2026, no generic form of semaglutide was on sale in the US.
- Ask for the ingredient's name and whether the proposed medicine is an injection or a tablet.
Does a shortage allow this offer?
The FDA's dated policy log records that the semaglutide injection shortage ended on February 21, 2025.
- By September 26, 2026, pharmacies could no longer rely on the national shortage to justify making semaglutide injections to order.
- This does not ban all made-to-order medicine. Under the pharmacy rule checked September 26, 2026, regularly making a close copy of an available medicine is restricted. A change can be exempt from that copy rule when the prescriber judges that it makes an important difference to the particular patient's care.
- Ask: what change would matter for my health, and why would the approved product not meet that need?
- A cheaper price is not an important difference for a patient under that rule.
- FDA policy checked September 26, 2026 says adding a vitamin may still leave the injection a close copy of an available medicine. The vitamin alone does not make the offer legal.
- The FDA describes semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate as salt forms, versions of the ingredient changed chemically. They differ from the ingredient in approved medicines. The FDA knows of no legal basis for compounding with these salt forms as of September 26, 2026.
- If either name appears on the offer or medicine label, pause and ask the clinician or pharmacist to explain it before using the product.