Compounded medications are not FDA approved. FDA does not review compounded medications for safety, effectiveness, or quality before they are marketed.
Compounded GLP-1 Guidepricing database · evidence ledger

Research journal · Tirzepatide

SURMOUNT-5 — tirzepatide vs semaglutide, the head-to-head

Design: open-label randomized trial, adults with obesity without diabetes, maximum tolerated tirzepatide (10/15 mg) vs semaglutide (1.7/2.4 mg), 72 weeks. Topline: ~20.2% vs ~13.7% average body-weight reduction; higher proportions on tirzepatide reached the 15%-plus and 20%-plus thresholds. Adverse events GI-dominant in both arms; discontinuation for AEs modestly higher on tirzepatide.

Reading qualifiers: open-label design (no blinding); maximum-tolerated dosing means arms compare strategies, not fixed doses; individual variation is wide relative to the mean gap; and the 2026 approval of semaglutide 7.2 mg (STEP-UP, ~20.7%) post-dates this comparison, leaving the top-dose question without a direct trial. Population excluded diabetes; results do not transfer automatically.

Relevance to compounded buyers: the efficacy gap prices at $41/month at the captured compounded floors ($186 vs $145 effective) — the cost-per-outcome frame in the full comparison. Status: summary pending named-reviewer sign-off, per the methodology; this page remains noindexed until then.