FDA is short for Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency responsible for reviewing medicines.
- Generic name: what the medicine’s active ingredient is called; this ingredient produces the medicine’s effect.
- Brand name: the name printed on a particular marketed product.
- Finished product: the actual medicine the pharmacy plans to supply.
Assumption to check
Is every version with the same name approved?
What the facts say
As of September 26, 2026, approval of a finished drug does not make a custom-made version FDA-approved.
Keep the ingredient and the finished product separate in your questions.
Names you may be comparing
As of September 26, 2026, United States approvals for semaglutide include tablets and injections under the names Ozempic and Wegovy.
As of September 26, 2026, United States approvals for tirzepatide include injections under the names Mounjaro and Zepbound.
A generic drug is a copy of a brand-name medicine that has its own FDA approval.
The name of the ingredient identifies what the medicine contains. Calling that name ‘generic’ does not tell you whether the finished product is an approved generic drug.
As of September 26, 2026, the United States has no approved generic version of either semaglutide or tirzepatide available.
A product’s official medicine information lists the conditions it is approved to treat. Ask which product the clinician means and whether your condition is among its approved uses.
Other names call for a different conversation
As of September 26, 2026, BPC-157, ipamorelin and retatrutide have no approved American drug in FDA records.
As of September 26, 2026, FDA states that preparing custom-made medicines with retatrutide or cagrilintide is prohibited under federal law.
- Ask for the exact finished product, rather than an abbreviation on a menu.
- Ask to see the source behind an approval claim.
- A product’s name in a government online list does not by itself prove FDA approval. Ask for the approval record for that exact product.
Open the source notes
Take the full name and form of the proposed medicine into the care conversation.