A product code is not an approval record
A drug product's identifying number in a government directory is called its National Drug Code, or NDC. If this number is offered as evidence of approval, request the actual approval record.
The U.S. agency that reviews medicines is called the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. Its directory explanation says an NDC number does not show a drug is FDA-approved, as of September 26, 2026.
Ask what record supports the approval claim itself.
Read the evidence
Pharmacy-made does not mean generic
A compounded medicine is prepared by a pharmacy or doctor instead of arriving as a drug maker's finished product.
FDA's telehealth guidance rejects describing a compounded medicine as an approved drug's generic or as the same product, as of September 26, 2026.
An approved medicine that copies a brand-name product is called a generic; compounding is a different process.
By September 26, 2026, neither semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) nor tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) had an FDA-approved generic that could be sold in the United States. One semaglutide application had tentative approval, meaning it met FDA's standards but could not yet be sold.
Read the evidence
Taking back a request gives no permission
In the September 26, 2026 check, the peptide BPC-157 was on FDA's list of ingredients whose requests had been taken back. Requests from people or groups had sought FDA's permission to use these ingredients in medicines made by pharmacies. FDA marked April 22, 2026 as the date when this page's information was current.
The people or groups who made those requests withdrew them, meaning they took them back. FDA still showed its safety concerns beside the ingredients.
As of September 26, 2026, BPC-157 failed the ingredient requirements for medicine made by a pharmacy for one named patient. FDA's July 2026 review found no official drug standard for it and no place for it in an approved drug. It was not on FDA's permitted-ingredient list either. Taking back the request did not put BPC-157 in Category 1, the group covered by FDA's temporary policy explained below.
Category 1 contains ingredients FDA is still considering for its permitted list and has enough information to assess. FDA said it did not plan to take action against pharmacies for using those ingredients if the policy's conditions were met. As of September 26, 2026, that was a temporary approach to enforcing rules, not approval or proof that a product is legal.
Ask the pharmacy: 'What written rule allows you to use this exact ingredient in my medicine? Does the temporary policy cover it, and how do you meet its conditions?' A different heading on an FDA page does not answer whether your medicine meets that rule.
The date and context matter
FDA publishes warning letters that tell companies about possible rule violations. A letter describes FDA's concerns at that time; later discussions may change the issues. It is not a final decision about the company.
A search with no result does not show FDA has checked a company. FDA may never have reviewed it.
Look for the letter's date and the product being discussed. If it names your medicine or supplier, ask the pharmacy or clinician to explain the concern and any later FDA response.