Check approval, generic claims, and drug codes
Here, FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration. Reviewing medicines is part of that agency’s work in the U.S.
For semaglutide, the September 26, 2026 record showed FDA-approved products called Ozempic and Wegovy.
Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) also had FDA-approved products at that date.
- Which ingredient gives the medicine its intended effect?
- Ask which brand is being offered and whether the product is an injection, tablet, or another form.
- Ask which health problem the product has been approved to treat.
What if a page calls it a generic?
The ingredient name is sometimes called the generic name. Hearing that name does not tell you whether the product is an approved generic medicine.
A brand-name medicine can have a version approved as a generic. Medicine made to order by a pharmacy is a different kind of product.
On September 26, 2026, no approved generic product of semaglutide or tirzepatide was available to U.S. patients.
- Ask whether “generic” refers to an actual approved product.
- Ask for its exact name.
- Read the compounding chapter if the answer is “made to order.”
Does a drug code prove approval?
In guidance checked September 26, 2026, FDA says a National Drug Code does not prove product approval.
A drug product can be identified by its number, called a National Drug Code.
- Ask for the approval record rather than just a code.
- Check what the record says about the specific product.
- Keep the licence check for the prescriber as a separate step.