What Should a Marketing Agency for a Compounded GLP-1 Program Handle?

What this means for you

• Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide are compounded, not FDA-approved. Wherever the drug is named, say so, and never call it generic, the same as a branded drug, or FDA-approved.
• On Meta, ads for the telehealth service can run without authorization. Ads that promote the drug, its price or its availability need LegitScript, Meta's authorization, 18+ targeting and an eligible country.
• On Google, a telemedicine provider needs LegitScript and Google's certification before prescription drug service ads serve.
• On TikTok, US prescription medicine ads need proof of FDA approval, which a compounded drug can't provide. TikTok is for awareness and non-prescription offers.
• Tracking sends neutral events server-side under a BAA with no personal data, because Meta prohibits health information in its Business Tools.

MedScale Health, a paid acquisition agency for telehealth brands and clinics, runs paid acquisition for GLP-1 weight care programs, including compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide. This page sets out what an agency running those ads has to get right, regulator by regulator and platform by platform, and how MedScale does it. This page is marketing guidance, not medical or legal advice. Platform policies change, so check the sources listed at the end before acting on a specific rule.

The FDA claims to keep out

FDA's page for telehealth companies, current as of June 15, 2026, reminds them not to market compounded GLP-1 drugs to consumers with false or misleading claims, including:

• Branding that falsely or misleadingly implies the telehealth company is the compounder.
• Describing a compounded drug as a generic version of an FDA-approved drug, or the same as one. FDA notes that generics are approved before marketing and compounded drugs are not.
• Claiming a compounded drug is FDA-approved or has otherwise been evaluated for safety and effectiveness.
• Describing a compounded drug as clinically proven to produce the same result as the FDA-approved drug.
• Claiming the drug comes from an FDA-approved or FDA-licensed pharmacy or outsourcing facility. FDA says it does not approve or license any facility.

On March 3, 2026, FDA announced 30 warning letters to telehealth companies over compounded GLP-1 claims, naming claims of sameness with FDA-approved products, and products branded with the telehealth firm's name without qualification, as the primary violations. FDA's April 1, 2026 update also says tirzepatide and semaglutide do not currently appear on the 503B bulks list or on its drug shortage list, so supply and availability lines need the same care as efficacy claims.

Two more checks come first. FDA says it is not aware of any lawful basis for compounding with semaglutide salt forms, such as semaglutide sodium or semaglutide acetate, so ask which form the pharmacy uses. And FDA's consumer page lists warning signs that include claims that a compounded drug is the same as an FDA-approved one and prices that seem too good to be true. Neither belongs in an ad.

Meta: what compounded programs can run

Meta's Drugs and Pharmaceuticals and Health and Wellness pages do not mention compounded drugs by name (checked October 8, 2026). The Health and Wellness policy sends weight loss products that require a prescription to the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals policy. That policy says advertisers don't need written authorization to run ads that promote telehealth services generally. Ads that promote prescription drugs need active LegitScript certification, Meta's authorization, a disclaimer to consult a licensed health professional or obtain a valid prescription, and targeting of people 18 and over in the United States, Canada or New Zealand where the advertiser is certified.

Meta's help page lists what authorization allows: listing the drug's price, offering delivery, sales calls to action, availability such as in-stock claims, and efficacy information. Before authorization, those stay out. Every weight ad also follows the Health and Wellness rules: 18+ targeting, no close-ups pinching fat, and no promises of specific outcomes within a set timeframe without qualifiers. Meta's personal attributes rule bars copy that asserts or implies the viewer's health, so "Struggling with your weight?" fails where "Medical weight care, online" can pass. Creator content needs care too: Meta's branded content policies require written pre-authorization from Meta before prescription drug and pharmacy business partners engage in branded content.

Google: certification first

Google says advertisers must be certified to serve ads for prescription drug services. In the US it accepts telemedicine providers accredited through LegitScript's Healthcare Merchant Certification Program, with Google's own certification on top. Its restricted drug terms page says certification isn't needed to use prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages, but is needed to keyword-target them, and is required for telemedicine providers. Targeting is narrow as well: Google treats health as a sensitive interest category, with injections among its examples, so advertiser-curated audiences such as customer match and lookalike segments can't be used.

TikTok: awareness only

TikTok's US healthcare policy says prescription medicine may be allowed with proof of approval and certification from regulators such as the FDA, shown only to people 18 and over. A compounded drug has no FDA approval to show, so a compounded GLP-1 offer can't run there. Its weight management policy also limits weight loss claims to adults and bars claims that a product alone leads to weight loss or that losing weight is easy or guaranteed.

Creative that survives review

• Lead with the program and the clinician: who it is for and how the visit works.
• Where the drug is named, say compounded, not FDA-approved, and compare it with nothing.
• Price the program or the consultation, not the drug, until Meta's authorization is in place.
• No timelines and no second-person statements about the viewer's body. MedScale runs no before-and-after in any ad.

The landing page carries the detail the ad leaves out: eligibility, the prescription-required wording, the pharmacy named accurately so nothing implies the telehealth company compounds the drug, and the fact that a licensed clinician decides. LegitScript's standards say a prescription must not be prescribed or dispensed before care is provided by a licensed medical professional, and the page should describe the program that way.

What MedScale does

MedScale Health runs compounded GLP-1 programs on Meta, with telehealth service ads first and drug-named ads once LegitScript and Meta's authorization are in place, on Google after certification, and on TikTok for awareness only. Every ad and page is pre-checked against FDA's list and each platform's rules before it is submitted. MedScale tracks server-side under a BAA with neutral event names, and no names, emails, phone numbers, IP addresses or browser IDs go to any ad platform. No approval or result is promised. Book the free growth audit at medscale.health/audit for a written channel plan for your program.