Compounding Drugs
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By John Wilkerson, Rachel Cohrs Zhang, and Katie Palmer

Nov. 24, 2024

Martin Makary, President-elect Trump’s pick for running the Food and Drug Administration, is an executive of the telehealth company Sesame, which connects consumers to physicians who can prescribe compounded weight-loss drugs. If confirmed as FDA commissioner, Makary would take the lead of the agency as it grapples with high-stakes policy issues that could impact Sesame’s business. 

The FDA — and patients — have been caught in the middle of a fight between the makers of branded drugs used to treat obesity and pharmacies that have been compounding cheaper versions of those drugs for more than two years. 

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Pharmacies are allowed to compound drugs while they’re in short supply, and the FDA determines whether they’re in shortage. That task hadn’t been a problem until the agency was faced with whether to take a weight-loss drug off of the shortage list.

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  1. John Wilkerson

    Washington Correspondent

    John Wilkerson is a Washington correspondent for STAT who writes about the politics of health care.

  2. Rachel Cohrs Zhang

    Chief Washington Correspondent

    Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports on the intersection of health policy and business in Washington. She covers Capitol Hill, lobbying, and federal agencies. Her primary areas of focus are the pharmaceutical and hospital industries. She is also the co-author of the free, twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter.

  3. Katie Palmer

    Health Tech Correspondent

    Katie Palmer covers telehealth, clinical artificial intelligence, and the health data economy — with an emphasis on the impacts of digital health care for patients, providers, and businesses.