Restore Access to Affordable Compounded GLP-1 & GIP/GLP-1 Medications!
Introduction:
The FDA’s decision to remove compounded tirzepatide and semaglutide from the drug shortage list is restricting access to life-changing medications for obesity, diabetes, and metabolic diseases. This ruling makes it harder for patients to afford these treatments, worsening health outcomes for millions of Americans. We need your help to reverse this decision!
Why This Matters:
From a Physician’s Perspective: I have been a physician for over 30 years. Finally, we were able to find a new class of medications that works and has promising success in combating the impact of obesity in our country. I’m finally able to help my patients not only to lose weight but also to cure them from hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver, obstructive sleep apnea, and many other conditions. Unfortunately, I have no other promising and healthy options to offer my patients when they seek help.
Why do you want to tie my hands and restrict my ability to help my patient population by taking these medications off the market? The branded medications were never and will never be an option because of unaffordability—even to wealthy individuals—lack of insurance coverage, high copayments, and deductibles. The only other option is to go back to prescribing phentermine or related drugs, which we used for years without any significant impact on obesity or its related comorbidities. Additionally, phentermine is not recommended for long-term use, is risky for those with cardiovascular disease, elderly patients, is a controlled medication, and has a high percentage of failure and weight regain after stopping therapy.
When you take these medications off the market, I will no longer be able to help more than 90% of my patient population. What should I offer them at that stage? Why not have a backup plan, such as making the branded name medications like Wegovy and Zepbound more affordable through pharmaceutical company pricing reforms, enforcing nationwide insurance coverage, including Medicaid and Medicare, and governmental support for the heightened cost of these medications?
I really don’t foresee the sales of these pharmaceutical companies increasing after the removal of compounded medication from the market since the majority of people using compounded meds are unable to afford the cost of the brand name anyway. The end result will be limiting access to the majority of people from accessing very life-saving medications. By preventing the sale of compounded versions of weight loss medication, you are restricting my capacity as a physician to help my patients.
From a Patient’s Perspective: I am not only a physician but also a patient. Over the past year, I have successfully lost more than 50 pounds using compounded versions of these medications. Now that the FDA has decided to pull them from the market, what am I supposed to do? Am I going to regain all the weight that I worked so hard to lose? I live a decent life, yet even I cannot afford the branded versions of these medications because their cost is prohibitive. Without these medications, I know I will struggle to maintain my weight loss.
In my practice, I have always prioritized prescribing brand-name GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP agonists first. I go above and beyond to obtain prior authorizations and navigate insurance coverage for my patients. I do not prescribe compounded medications unless they are the last option for my patients. Now, with this restriction in place, I face an ethical dilemma. I can only prescribe these life-changing medications to the small percentage of my patients who have the privilege of insurance coverage or financial means. This is not equitable healthcare, and it is not the way medicine should be practiced.
What We Demand:
We call on the FDA and Congress to:
Sign the Petition:
Join thousands of concerned citizens, healthcare providers, and advocacy groups in demanding change. Your voice can make a difference!
[Sign the Petition Now] (Insert petition link here)
Spread the Word:
Formal Advocacy Letter: MedGate Wellness is submitting an official letter to key agencies and influential leaders, including the FDA, American Medical Association (AMA), Obesity Medicine Association (OMA), the Obesity Society President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Elon Musk, urging them to take action in reversing the FDA’s ruling. We encourage all healthcare professionals and patients to join this effort.
Together, we can make life-saving medications accessible to all. Thank you for your support!