On the Ohio side
What does approval actually tell you?
Several words can look official on a health website. Ask what each word refers to: the medicine, the building, or an entry in a computer list.
Separate approval from other claims
Approval belongs to a product
The Food and Drug Administration is usually shortened to FDA. Keep the full product name beside any claim about approval. As of September 2026, compounded preparations have no FDA approval.
Before a compounded preparation is marketed, the FDA does not review how safe it is, how well it works, or its quality. A familiar ingredient name does not answer the question. Ask whether the finished product is approved or compounded.
A directory code is not an approval
The number called an NDC, short for National Drug Code, appears in the government’s drug-product list. As of September 2026, the FDA states that an NDC listing does not prove approval.
At that date, registration with the FDA also does not mean the facility or its drugs are approved. Ask for the FDA approval record showing the medicine’s full name, its maker, and its approval date. Compare those details with the product you are offered. A picture of an entry in a drug list does not answer this question.
A compounded product is not an approved generic
A generic medicine is a version of a brand-name drug that has approval. A pharmacy-made preparation has a different status. Neither semaglutide nor tirzepatide has an approved, marketable US generic as of September 2026.
The FDA identifies calling a compounded drug a generic of an approved drug as misleading, as of September 2026. Ask whether you are being offered an approved generic or a pharmacy-made medicine. Ask for the answer in plain words.