Keep in mind
Check the person, product, and prescription
A seal or logo on a health website may look official and still be fake; the Federal Trade Commission warns about this.
That commission is the US consumer-protection agency. Take the name from the page to the state board’s records.
US medicines are reviewed by FDA; written out, that name is Food and Drug Administration.
For a place making medicines to order, FDA registration means it has signed up with FDA.
As of September 2026, registration did not mean FDA had approved that place or its drugs. Registration did not prove the drugs could legally be sold.
Beyond the name you found
Check what the product is called
Calling compounded medicine FDA-approved was a false claim at the September 2026 check.
No semaglutide generic had final FDA approval for US sale as of September 2026.
FDA was warning against unapproved weight-drug products labelled only for research yet sold to people, as of September 2026.
If you see such claims, request the product’s complete name along with the official record supporting the claim.
“For research use only” means the label describes a product for laboratory work, not for a person to take.
FDA urges people to avoid unapproved weight-drug products sold for human use under those labels.
Keep in mind
Ask for the source of the medicine
Which pharmacy would supply this medicine to me, and how can I check its licence in my state?
FDA’s pharmacy-lookup page links readers to state licence searches and advises against using a pharmacy missing from that state’s record.
Beyond the name you found
Check the prescription and the label
As of September 2026, supplying a prescription drug to someone without a valid prescription broke US law.
FDA has reported fraudulent compounded semaglutide labels naming pharmacies that do not exist.
FDA also lists damaged packaging, no clear instructions, and no pharmacist available for questions among signs that call for concern.
If an answer is missing, leave the gap in your notes. Ask for an explanation before deciding whether to proceed.
Endnotes
Notes for this chapter
- Consumer agency: misleading seals and logos
Check the records even when a website looks official.
- FDA: what approval means
A facility’s registration is different from a drug’s approval.
- FDA: research-labelled and falsely labelled products
Read the warnings about research labels and false pharmacy names.
- FDA links for checking pharmacy licences by state
Use the pharmacy name in the official record.
- FDA: checks for an online pharmacy
Read the checklist alongside the licence record.