Eli Lilly has sent cease-and-desist letters to hundreds of compounding pharmacies, telehealth companies, and medical spas making and selling “compounded” versions of tirzepatide. This hawkish legal strategy indicates that a new phase of the GLP-1 gold rush has begun—a crackdown against any entity selling non-name-brand medications.
Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss medication Zepbound, was on the US Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list from December 2022 until October 2, 2024. When drugs in the US go into shortage, pharmacists, doctors, and licensed outsourcing facilities are permitted to “compound” copies to make sure patients have access to medicine they need. With so many potential