Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug no longer in shortage

All doses of Eli Lilly’s weight loss drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro are available in the United States after more than a year of being in shortage, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) medication shortage database. 

Until Friday, at least four dosages of Mounjaro and Zepbound had been listed on the FDA’s website as in shortage in the U.S. 

The agency still lists a shortage of the drugs overall, however, which means potentially dangerous compounded versions of that drug are still allowed on the market. 

Compounding pharmacies can make a medication that’s essentially a copy of a commercially available drug if its active ingredients are listed on the FDA’s drug shortage list.  

Lilly has been warning patients about sales and social media posts involving phony or compounded versions of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro. 

Mounjaro is a diabetes drug, and FDA approved Zepbound for weight loss last year. Its main competitor, Wegovy, is still in shortage.