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Thirty warning letters went out on March 3, and the mistakes at the center of them are easy to make in ad copy.
The FDA announced letters to 30 telehealth companies over what it called false or misleading claims about compounded GLP-1 products on their websites.1 No one has to guess at the theme. The agency said the main problems were implying that compounded products are the same as FDA-approved ones and hiding where a product comes from.1
This is educational content, not legal advice. I am a marketer reading a public announcement and a law firm's summary of the letters, and this piece covers what I would change in a telehealth brand's copy this week.
What did the FDA actually announce?
On March 3, 2026 the FDA said it was warning 30 telehealth companies against illegal marketing of compounded GLP-1s.1 The letters concern claims on company websites.
The context
This was the second batch of letters to telehealth firms. It follows the crackdown on misleading direct-to-consumer drug advertising that the agency launched in September 2025 (my breakdown of the first letters), and the FDA says it has sent thousands of letters to pharmaceutical and telehealth firms in the past six months.1 Holland & Knight's note from late September 2025 called that earlier round the first time regulators specifically targeted telehealth advertising for compounded products and predicted more enforcement.3
It's a new era.
A reminder about what compounded means
The FDA's own page is blunt: compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, so the agency does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed, and they are not the same as FDA-approved generics.1 Commissioner Makary also said compounded drugs can matter for shortages or unique patient needs, and that compounders should not compound in ways that circumvent the approval process.1 Compounding is not the target. Marketing it as something it is not is. (503A vs 503B explains why the pharmacy choice matters here.)
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb gave the logic in a CNBC interview posted on February 9, 2026, about Hims & Hers' withdrawn version of Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy pill: "We have a drug approval process for a reason to ensure the drugs are safe and effective."4 That is the idea underneath the "implied sameness" pattern below. A compounded product has not been through that process, so copy that borrows an approved drug's credibility is the problem.
VideoCNBC Television
Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Novo Nordisk vs. Hims & Hers: We have a drug approval process for a reason
Gottlieb on the Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers dispute; this is one commentator's view, not a statement of law.
What patterns did the FDA flag?
The announcement names two. Law firm commentary fills in what they look like on a page.
Pattern one: claiming the same thing
The FDA said the letters cited claims implying that compounded products are the same as FDA-approved products.1 In Foley & Lardner's summary of the letters, that shows up in several forms:2
- Calling a compounded treatment FDA-approved.
- Claiming a product is clinically studied or shown to deliver powerful results, which the summary treats as an unsupported drug claim.
- Saying a product contains the same active ingredient as a named brand-name drug.
- Using "generic" plus a brand name to describe a compounded product.
Each of these invites the reader to assume the compounded product carries an approved drug's evidence. The claim limits were covered early in Compounded Semaglutide Advertising.
Pattern two: hidden sourcing
The second pattern is advertising a drug under the telehealth firm's own name or trademark "without qualification." The FDA's concern is that this obscures where the drug comes from and implies the telehealth firm is the compounder.1 Foley's summary describes the related issue of company branding on labels suggesting the firm compounds the drug when it does not.2
What should telehealth marketers change?
Start with an inventory, then work through the patterns. The promotion checklist in Telehealth Black Friday: Promotions That Do Not Trigger Regulators is a good companion.
- List every surface. Website, landing pages, ads, emails, text templates, social posts, creator and affiliate copy, intake flow, checkout, and the pages your pharmacy partner supplies.
- Separate the two product types. Every GLP-1 offering is either an FDA-approved drug or a compounded one, and your copy should say which, in plain words, at the point of the claim.
- Remove equivalence claims. No "same as," "identical to," "generic version of" or brand names used to describe a compounded product.
- Name the source. Say what the product is and who compounds it, so the reader does not think your brand made it.
- Strip unsupported claims. Superlatives, "clinically proven" language and before-and-after imagery are all things Foley recommends scrubbing.2
- Check the prescribing story. Foley's advice includes making sure the clinical evaluation, documentation and follow-up are real, with prescribers and not sales teams driving treatment decisions.2
Copy that invites trouble, copy that does not
| Invites trouble | Cleaner direction |
|---|---|
| "Generic version of a brand-name drug" | State plainly that the product is compounded and not FDA-approved |
| "Contains the same active ingredient as the brand" | Describe what the product is, without comparing it to an approved drug |
| "Our proven weight loss treatment" | Describe the service: a clinician evaluates whether treatment is appropriate |
| "Made by [your brand]" on a pharmacy-made product | Name the pharmacy that compounds it |
| Brand names in ad headlines and hashtags | Keep brand names out of compounded-product copy |
I am not giving you approved wording, and I could not do that responsibly. These are directions to discuss with your attorney, who can see your pharmacy agreements and your state's rules.
Do your partners matter too?
Yes, and this part gets skipped. Foley recommends revising contracts to allocate compliance duties among telehealth platforms, pharmacies and 503B facilities, with audit rights, notice of regulatory inquiries and termination rights.2 If a pharmacy writes your product pages, or a creator writes your ad, their words are still on your name.
Have a response plan before you need one
Foley also advises preparing a response plan covering media, patient communications and possible attention from the FDA, the FTC, state boards and private litigation.2 A plan written after a letter arrives is a plan written in a hurry.
Where do you start on Monday?
You do not have to rewrite the whole brand in a week. You do need to know where you stand.
- Spend one afternoon on the inventory.
- Pull any line that claims sameness, approval or clinical results for a compounded product.
- Book time with a healthcare attorney to review what is left.
If your copy has to borrow someone else's approval to sound credible, the copy is the problem.
The pull toward comparison is strong because comparison sells. Say what it is, say who makes it, and let the clinical relationship carry the trust. That is better marketing and, as these letters show, safer marketing. My approach to clean telehealth funnels is on my telehealth page.
Educational content, not legal advice. Consult your attorney about your specific claims, products and obligations.
Keep building.Ekai
Questions people ask
What did the FDA do on March 3, 2026?
The FDA announced it had sent 30 warning letters to telehealth companies over false or misleading claims about compounded GLP-1 products on their websites. It was the second group of warning letters to telehealth firms since the agency began its crackdown on misleading drug advertising in September 2025.
What did the letters say was wrong with the marketing?
The main problems were claims that implied a compounded product is the same as an FDA-approved one, and advertising drugs under the telehealth firm's own name or trademark without qualification, which hides the source and implies the firm is the compounder.
Are compounded drugs FDA-approved?
No. The FDA states that compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, so the agency does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed, and they are not the same as FDA-approved generics.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is educational content about marketing practices. Have a healthcare attorney review your claims, your pharmacy agreements and your prescribing workflow.
Sources
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