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Eli Lilly Expands Legal Fight Against Compounded GLP-1 Drugs

The pharmaceutical company has filed lawsuits against four telehealth providers, intensifying its campaign to halt unapproved versions of its diabetes and weight-loss medications.

The Empower Pharmacy facility maximizes the use of automation, utilizes equipment to generate purified water, clean steam and clean compressed air, and includes a large warehouse capable of storing at least nine months of raw pharmaceutical ingredients to minimize supply chain deficiencies that could interfere with patient care.
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The logo of Lilly is seen on a wall of the Lilly France company unit, part of the Eli Lilly and Co drugmaker group, in Fegersheim near Strasbourg, France, February 1, 2018. Picture taken February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File photo
Empower Pharmacy hosts a celebration for the reinvention and expansion of the company with a new outsourcing facility on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, in Houston.

Overview

  • Eli Lilly filed lawsuits on April 23, 2025, against four telehealth companies—Mochi Health, Fella & Delilah Health, Willow Health, and Henry Meds—alleging they sell mass-produced, compounded versions of its GLP-1 drugs with unapproved formulations.
  • The lawsuits follow Eli Lilly's earlier legal action against Houston-based Empower Pharmacy, which continues to compound tirzepatide products despite FDA warnings and an April 24 deadline to respond to the lawsuit.
  • The FDA declared the shortages of GLP-1 drugs like tirzepatide and semaglutide over in late 2024, setting deadlines for compounders to cease production, though some continue to sell modified versions of the drugs.
  • Eli Lilly argues that these compounded drugs, often marketed as personalized, are instead mass-produced with untested additives, posing potential safety risks to patients.
  • The legal battle underscores tensions between pharmaceutical companies, compounding pharmacies, and telehealth providers over patient safety, affordability, and access to high-demand diabetes and weight-loss treatments.