The $7 billion healthcare startup Ro, which has been prescribing brand-name weight-loss shots since January 2023, now offers compounded semaglutide to patients enrolled in its weight-management program. Nonetheless, Ro is the first prominent healthcare company to effectively endorse compounded semaglutide by prescribing it. A poor-quality compounded drug might simply be a dud and a waste of money. But while compounding pharmacies are subject to FDA and state regulations, states are the main regulators, and their oversight is patchy. Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesIt's hard to know if any given vial of compounded semaglutide is safe.

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Persons: Wegovy's, Ro, drugmakers, Eli Lilly's, Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, Scott Gottlieb, Michael Siluk, That's, they've, Ozempic, Eli Lilly, Eric Kastango, they're, Kastango, aren't, Al Carter, Sarah Jones Simmer, Spencer Nadolsky, WeightWatchers, Tim Church, Wondr, it's, hasn't Organizations: Business, Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, Getty, Novo Nordisk, USP, National Association of, Pharmacy, Health Locations: Novo, Massachusetts, Austria, New York City