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Plain-language guide

What semaglutide names mean

# Which medicine do they mean?

A shared ingredient does not settle every question.

An online offer may use the ingredient name, a brand name, or the word compounded, meaning prepared to order. Ask for the full product name before comparing it with another offer.

Question to keep

Is this the medicine I think it is?

Semaglutide

## An ingredient, with different product names

Semaglutide does some of a gut hormone's work on appetite and blood sugar; a hormone is a signal inside the body.

That body signal is called GLP-1.

As of September 2026, semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) was available in approved products with different uses.

Semaglutide (Ozempic) injection has approval for treating type 2 diabetes in adults and for some related heart and kidney uses. Type 2 diabetes affects blood sugar.

Semaglutide (Wegovy) is the brand with weight-management approval; it is used with changes to food intake and physical activity.

Ozempic injection does not have weight-loss approval. The health professional writing a prescription is called a prescriber. They may prescribe an approved medicine off-label, meaning for a use outside its approved label.

Ask it plainly

Which product and form are you considering, and is that use on its label?

[Source note A](#c-note-a)

FDA approval

## A product has been reviewed

FDA is short for Food and Drug Administration, the United States agency that reviews medicines.

Approval is about a specific medicine and its named uses, rather than the quality of an online care service.

As of September 2026, FDA did not approve health care providers, and registration with FDA did not mean a product was approved.

Ask it plainly

Are you talking about the medicine's approval or a business registration?

[Source note B](#c-note-b)

Compounded

## Made to meet a particular need

A compounded medicine is prepared to order instead of supplied as a ready-made approved product.

Compounded drugs lacked FDA approval as of September 2026; before sale, FDA did not check their quality, benefit, or safety.

FDA had resolved the national semaglutide injection shortage in February 2025; as of September 2026, injections were not on that shortage list.

As of September 2026, the law restricted making copies of ready-made medicines regularly or in large amounts.

For medicine made for one named patient, a change can qualify for an exception to that copy rule. The change must, in the prescriber's judgment, make a significant difference for that person. That means a change that matters for that person's medical needs. A lower price alone does not qualify.

One reason for making medicine to order is to leave out a dye that causes an allergy. A dye is an added color.

That example does not decide whether a particular medicine meets the copy rule. Ask how the medicine will be changed and why that change matters for your needs.

Ask it plainly

What change are you making for me, and why does it make a significant difference?

[Source note C](#c-note-c)

Generic

## A word to question in an offer

A generic drug is a copy of a brand-name medicine that has approval.

As of September 2026, there was no approved generic semaglutide that could be marketed in the United States.

In FDA's view, it was misleading to describe a compounded drug as the generic version of an approved product.

Ask it plainly

Do you mean an approved product or a compounded preparation?

[Source note D](#c-note-d)

Words at this desk

[Semaglutide](#c-semaglutide)

[FDA approval](#c-approval)

[Compounded](#c-compounded)

[Generic](#c-generic)

Keep this thought

Note the exact product name and form, along with why it is being considered. Do that before comparing a headline price.

[Next desk: what a visit involves](/welcome-desk/)

## Notes behind this chapter

A

### Ingredients and approved uses

[Semaglutide (Ozempic) injection label](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=adec4fd2-6858-4c99-91d4-531f5f2a2d79)

[Semaglutide (Wegovy) label](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b)

B

### What approval means

[FDA explains what it approves](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved)

C

### Compounding and copies

[FDA explains compounding](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers)

[FDA's semaglutide supply and copy policies](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize)

D

### The word generic

[FDA's drug application records](https://api.fda.gov/drug/drugsfda.json)

[FDA's guidance on compounded-drug claims](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-telehealth-companies-what-know-when-promoting-compounded-drugs)

These pages help you understand care; this is a guide, not a place that treats people or sells medicine.

[Text version](/quick-brief/index.md)

[Guide text index](/llms.txt)

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[Terms](/quick-brief/)

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[Costs](/money-desk/)

[Cautions](/safety-desk/)

[Studies](/research-notes/)

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