Compounded Semaglutide for Weight Loss

January 11, 2025

As of April 2025, we no longer offer compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide. We remain committed to supporting your health journey and encourage you to explore our Weight Management page for other options tailored to your needs.

Thank you for your understanding and continued trust.

Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, which acts on glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar levels. By mimicking the effects of GLP-1, semaglutide helps control hunger and supports blood sugar management.

When administered via weekly injections or daily oral pills, semaglutide is effective in helping obese and overweight patients lose up to 15 percent of their weight.¹ In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of semaglutide as an addition to weight loss strategies like diet modifications and exercise.

Weight Loss Benefits

Clinical trials have demonstrated substantial weight loss benefits by taking semaglutide. In the clinical trial leading to its FDA approval, obese and overweight participants who combined semaglutide with lifestyle changes lost an average of around 15 percent of their body weight over 68 weeks. These results make semaglutide a promising option for individuals who have struggled with traditional weight loss methods, such as diet and exercise alone.

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One of the most common criticisms of semaglutide is weight regain after stopping the medication. Although many patients do regain weight, not all do.² Long-term treatment is typically required to maintain the weight loss from taking semaglutide. Many medications must be taken long-term to address underlying conditions, such as blood pressure medications.

Health Benefits Beyond Weight Loss

Weight loss is not the only benefit of semaglutide. The medication also offers significant improvements in overall metabolic health as well as lower blood pressure and reduced inflammation.³ Additionally, weight loss achieved with semaglutide can decrease the risk of obesity-related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

The indications of semaglutide continue to expand beyond diabetes and weight loss. In early 2024, semaglutide became the first weight loss medication to receive FDA approval for preventing cardiovascular events in obese and overweight adults, who account for about 70 percent of American adults.

For many patients, the psychological benefits of weight loss can be just as impactful as the physical ones. Losing weight with semaglutide can boost self-esteem, enhance mobility, and improve mental health. Participants in clinical trials reported greater sense of control over their eating habits and mood improvements, helping contribute to an overall improved quality of life.⁴

Use of Semaglutide

While semaglutide is highly effective at helping obese and overweight patients lose up to 15 percent of their weight, they should use it under the supervision of a healthcare provider. Every drug carries the risk of side effects, including semaglutide. Side effects are typically mild and include nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. These end upon cessation of the drug. Still, semaglutide is not suitable for everyone, especially those with a history of thyroid conditions.

Patient-Specific Semaglutide Preparations

Although most commonly given by injection, semaglutide is also available via oral administration as Rybelsus®, which is only FDA-approved for treating diabetes and not weight loss. According to the literature, 50 mg/day is the optimal dosage for weight loss, but Rybelsus® is offered as a 14 mg tablet. A compounding pharmacy like VLS Pharmacy & New Drug Loft can provide patients with an oral semaglutide formulation with the exact dosage they require using semaglutide sourced from an FDA-approved manufacturing facility.

Semaglutide can also be compounded as sublingual drops depending on the patient’s specific needs. When given via sublingual administration, semaglutide is absorbed directly into the bloodstream via mucous membranes under the tongue, which bypasses the digestive system and helps prevent degradation in the gastrointestinal tract and results in optimal bioavailability.

Patient-centered treatment approaches are becoming increasingly common, and studies have suggested that patient preferences may affect medication adherence rates.⁵ It has also been suggested that compounding can play a key role in increasing patient adherence.⁶ For example, semaglutide sublingual drops can be flavored with a minty taste to enhance the patient experience, making patients more likely to integrate the drug into their daily routine.

Regulations Surrounding Semaglutide Compounding

Because semaglutide is currently undergoing an industry-wide shortage, it may be compounded under the FD&C Act, provided the API is sourced from an FDA-approved supplier and compounded is performed according to other federal and state-level regulations. The salt forms of semaglutide, such as semaglutide sodium, are still ineligible for compounding.

Why Choose VLS Pharmacy & New Drug Loft?

Semaglutide represents a major advancement in the fight against overweight and obesity. In addition to providing substantial weight loss to the vast majority of patients, it also improves their metabolic health and increases their quality of life. Compounding provides a method for more patients to gain access to this medication by tailoring the drug formulation to meet their individual needs, as determined by a licensed medical professional.

As a 503A compounding pharmacy, VLS Pharmacy & New Drug Loft can tailor semaglutide preparations to meet a patient’s specific needs, including administration route and the exact dosage they require.

As part of our efforts to ensure patient safety, we compound all of our formulations using high-quality pharmaceutical-grade APIs sourced directly from PCCA, the leader of superior-quality APIs. Our pharmacists and technicians tailor each formulation to meet a patient’s specific needs, including the dose and administration route. As a 503A pharmacy specializing in sterile and non-sterile compounding, we will support you and your patients by creating individualized pharmaceutical therapies.

Please comment below with any thoughts or questions.

Reach out to our team to learn about best practices and to partner with our experts on custom compounded medications for your patients. All medications from VLS Pharmacy and New Drug Loft are prepared in a lab that follows safety and quality standards per our status as a 503A pharmacy.

References

Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity | New England Journal of Medicine. Accessed August 2, 2024. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Davies M, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. 2022;24(8):1553-1564. doi:10.1111/dom.14725
Verma S, Bhatta M, Davies M, et al. Effects of once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg on C-reactive protein in adults with overweight or obesity (STEP 1, 2, and 3): exploratory analyses of three randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials. eClinicalMedicine. 2023;55. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101737
O’Neil PM, Rubino DM. Exploring the wider benefits of semaglutide treatment in obesity: insight from the STEP program. Postgrad Med. 2022;134(sup1):28-36. doi:10.1080/00325481.2022.2150006
Losi S, Berra CCF, Fornengo R, Pitocco D, Biricolti G, Federici MO. The role of patient preferences in adherence to treatment in chronic disease: a narrative review. Drug Target Insights. 2021;15:13-20. doi:10.33393/dti.2021.2342
Carvalho M, Almeida IF. The Role of Pharmaceutical Compounding in Promoting Medication Adherence. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2022;15(9):1091. doi:10.3390/ph15091091