Unpack the offer
Compounding
Compounding means a pharmacist or doctor prepares or changes a medicine for a patient.
That tells you how the medicine is made, without establishing approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Finished product
- A ready-made medicine supplied by a drug company.
What compounding can mean
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains that compounding can address patient needs a finished medicine may not meet.
An example is a patient who cannot use an ingredient in that product.
Compounded medicines lack FDA approval on September 26, 2026.
A compounded drug goes on sale without the FDA first reviewing how well it works, its quality or its safety.
- Biologic
- A legal group of medicines, including tesamorelin, that pharmacies cannot make copies of.
Tesamorelin has a separate limit
As of September 28, 2026, tesamorelin is legally a biologic.
As of September 26, 2026, federal rules allowing some pharmacy-made drugs do not extend to biologics.
Even with a prescription, a pharmacy is not allowed to make its own tesamorelin for patient care.
A lower price does not make a pharmacy-made tesamorelin copy legal.
- A useful question
- Is this the approved medicine, or something described as a custom blend?
Put the product question first
Ask for the product’s full name before comparing the cost of care.
Find out which pharmacy is handling the prescription and how to look up its licence.
If the answer is unclear, pause the comparison until it is clear.