US FDA to reconsider decision barring compounded versions of Lilly weight loss drug

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday agreed to reconsider a decision it made last month to bar drug compounders from selling their own versions of Eli Lilly's blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs.

The agency said in a court filing it would now allow compounding pharmacies and facilities to keep providing the drugs while it reviews whether there is a shortage of their active ingredient. The compounding versions of the drugs are cheaper for patients than the brand-name versions.

The decision was in response to a lawsuit brought on Monday by the Outsourcing Facilities Association, a compounding industry group. After the FDA's decision on Friday to reconsider, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas put the lawsuit on hold.

The Sept. 30 decision by the FDA endangered the ability of compounders to sell versions of Lilly's weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro. The FDA decision removed their active ingredient, tirzepatide, from its list of drugs experiencing shortages.

That would have cut off access for many patients to the compounded versions they relied on during the shortage, which are cheaper than the brand name drugs. Insurers generally cover drugs like tirzepatide for diabetes, but many do not cover them for weight loss.

Outsourcing Facilities Association Chairman Lee Rosebush said in a statement the group was "greatly relieved, for our members and the many patients that they serve, that the FDA has agreed to reconsider its decision."

Shortages of Lilly's drugs and competitors like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic have fueled demand for compounders' versions. Mounjaro had been on the FDA's list of drugs in short supply since late 2022, while Zepbound was added in April.

Compounded drugs, unlike conventional brand-name or generic drugs, are sold without first getting FDA approval. Compounding pharmacies may create drugs to fill prescriptions for specific patients, while so-called outsourcing facilities prepare compounded drugs in bulk.

Federal regulations allow compounded versions of an FDA-approved drug to be sold to meet demand if the drug is in short supply. If there is no shortage of a drug, compounded versions of it cannot be made regularly or in large amounts.

The Outsourcing Facilities Association claimed in its lawsuit the FDA removed tirzepatide from its shortage list even though it remained in short supply.

Lilly in August began sending cease-and-desist letters to telehealth companies, wellness centers and medical spas selling compounded versions of Zepbound and Mounjaro. The company has also filed lawsuits against sellers falsely claiming to sell FDA-approved versions of the drug.

The active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's drugs, semaglutide, remains on the FDA's shortage list.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Chris Reese)