Made to order needs its own explanation

At this point

If the offer is a cheaper medicine made to order, ask what makes that preparation different for your needs.

What the facts show

A pharmacist or doctor compounds a medicine by making it to order, instead of supplying a ready-made drug.

Compounding could be legal, but the medicine and how it was made still had to meet the rules, as of September 2026.

A medicine may be made to order because a patient's medical need cannot be met by an approved product.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) handles medicine reviews in the US.

FDA did not review these preparations for safety, quality or effectiveness before sale, as of September 2026.

Routine copies have limits

Federal law restricted regular or large-scale making of copies of medicines already available, as of September 2026.

The prescriber had to identify a change that made a meaningful difference to that named patient's care, under the September 2026 rule.

That decision was the prescriber's, rather than just a claim in an advert, under the September 2026 rule.

For someone allergic to a dye, the needed medicine may have to leave that dye out.

The September 2026 rule did not accept a cheaper price alone as that medical difference.

Adding a vitamin to a semaglutide copy did not by itself remove the limits on copies, as of September 2026.

A past shortage does not answer today's question

As of September 2026, FDA's national shortage list no longer included semaglutide injections or tirzepatide.

A local stock problem is different from an entry on that national list.

Ask for the current explanation for the product being offered, not just a reference to the old shortage.