The Trump administration’s aggressive push to reduce prescription med costs has had a measurable impact on the pricing of GLP-1 treatments in the United States, and compounding pharmacies played a central role in creating the competitive pressure that made it happen.
In a recent episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, Dr. Abud Bakri, an internal medicine physician with deep expertise in peptide medicine, explained how the GLP-1 shortage period opened a window for compounding pharmacies to step in and supply affordable versions of medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide. That shift fundamentally changed the pricing landscape.
“The Trump RX has lowered a lot of these prices for a lot of these d**gs,” Dr. Bakri told host Andrew Huberman. “Now I think you can get a $300 monthly dose of tirzepatide available through these websites,” compared to what was previously $1,500 or more without insurance coverage.
The mechanism was straightforward. When FDA-approved GLP-1 treatments faced supply shortages, compounding pharmacies were legally permitted to manufacture their own versions. The FDA reportedly encouraged this.
Dr. Bakri noted, “The FDA was reaching out to these people telling them to do it. Like Brigham was talking to him last week at the Hands Games. He’s like, ‘Yeah, the FDA told us to make this stuff and then they’re getting us in trouble.'”
Brigham Buhler is the founder and CEO of Ways2Well, a healthcare company focused on preventive medicine, regenerative treatments, and hormone optimization. Buhler has also gained attention within combat sports circles, with UFC athletes and influencers seeking treatment through Ways2Well’s regenerative medicine programs,.
The surge in compounded supply gave consumers an alternative, and the price disparity became impossible for major pharma manufacturers to ignore. Patients who previously paid $1,500 for an Ozempic pen were driving to Mexico to pay $150 for the same product. Others were sourcing compounded semaglutide for a fraction of the retail price.
The political dimension intensified when the Trump administration began publicly pressuring Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to make their treatments more accessible to American consumers. With compounders already undercutting their pricing, the major manufacturers faced a clear commercial incentive to negotiate.
Dr. Bakri also highlighted the patent strategy now in play around retatrutide, which has 39 amino acids. “To be a biologic you have to be above 40 amino acids,” he explained.
Huberman agreed, continuing, “Once you get to above 40 amino acids, if you are a biologic, then the patent lasts way longer.”
If Eli Lilly succeeds in classifying retatrutide as a biologic, compounders would face significant barriers to producing their own versions, potentially eliminating the competitive pricing pressure that has benefited consumers.
The broader picture, as Dr. Bakri described it, is a medical system that was heading toward collapse under the weight of obesity, pre-diabetes, and diabetes-related costs. GLP-1 medications represent a rare intervention capable of reversing that trajectory at scale.
“These treatments are transforming medicine,” he said, noting that patients on GLP-1s were losing 50 to 100 pounds before the treatments were even FDA-approved for weight loss.
Whether the pricing reductions hold will depend on how the regulatory and patent landscape around next-generation GLP-1 treatments develops over the coming years.
