New national survey finds consumers overwhelmingly want FDA approval — but only 17% know compounded GLP-1 products are not approved
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Americans for Safe and Effective Medicines (ASEM) today launched as a new national advocacy organization dedicated to protecting patients from illegal mass compounding, counterfeit products, and misleading marketing practices and holding bad actors accountable. The organization’s launch comes as its inaugural survey reveals a significant gap: 84 percent of consumers want Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval of their GLP-1 medications but only 17 percent know that compounded GLP-1 products are not FDA approved.
Mass-compounded GLP-1 products continue to be aggressively marketed through telehealth platforms, medical spas, online sellers, and other distribution channels in ways that can blur the distinction between FDA-approved medicines and unapproved mass-compounded alternatives. The result is an increasingly unregulated marketplace in which many patients assume products are subject to safeguards that they are not.
“Patients are being asked to take all the risk without being given all the facts,” said Fred Mills, Chief Policy Officer for Americans for Safe and Effective Medicines. “ASEM was created to protect patients from a marketplace where confusion has become a profit center. Compounding was designed to solve individual patient problems, not become a business model built on patient confusion.”
New Survey Reveals Disconnect Between Consumer Expectations and Understanding of Compounded GLP-1 Products
The survey findings illustrate the disconnect between what consumers expect from their medicines and what they understand:
- 84 percent of consumers say FDA approval, clinical testing, and independent expert review are important when choosing a GLP-1 medication. That number rises to roughly 90 percent among current GLP-1 users.
- Among current GLP-1 users, the majority mistakenly believe compounded GLP-1 products are FDA approved.
- 82 percent of primary care physicians say they have encountered patients who are unaware that compounded products are not FDA approved.
ASEM Report Finds a Growing Commercial Market for Mass-Compounded GLP-1s Is Undermining Patient Safety
ASEM also released The Shortage is Over. The Risks Are Not: How Illegal Mass Compounding Is Undermining Patient Safety—And What Must Happen Next, a report on how temporary compounding practices adopted during the GLP-1 shortage have evolved into an unregulated market for knockoff GLP-1 products. This parallel market operates outside key FDA safeguards for safety, quality, and transparency.
The report examines FDA inspections, recalls, warning letters, and state enforcement actions, and concludes that patient safety is being undermined by:
- Misleading marketing that obscures the distinction between compounded products and FDA-approved medicines and contributes to widespread patient confusion;
- Industrial-scale distribution of products that are not subject to the same standards as FDA-approved medicines; and
- Quality, sterility, and ingredient-sourcing concerns associated with mass-compounded injectable products.
About Americans for Safe and Effective Medicines
Americans for Safe and Effective Medicines (ASEM) is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) non-profit organization dedicated to combating illegal mass compounding, counterfeit products, and misleading marketing practices. ASEM advocates for robust Food and Drug Administration enforcement and legislative and regulatory accountability on behalf of patients.
For more information, please visit safeandeffectivemeds.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
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SOURCE Americans for Safe and Effective Medicines
