Retatrutide: a court hearing and new results.

What happened, in plain terms.

On September 24, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments in Eli Lilly and Company v. Kennedy, a case over whether retatrutide is legally classified as a biologic or as a conventional drug. The answer matters: under federal law, biologics cannot be compounded by 503A or 503B pharmacies. No ruling has been issued yet.

Five days later, on September 29, Lilly's Phase 3 results were published: TRIUMPH-1 in the New England Journal of Medicine and TRIUMPH-2, in people with type 2 diabetes, in The Lancet. In TRIUMPH-1, adults with obesity on the highest dose lost about 25 percent of their body weight on average. Lilly has said it plans to submit retatrutide to the FDA in the first quarter of 2027.

Looking for results now? Semaglutide and tirzepatide are available today through our medical weight loss program. For the full background on retatrutide, see Retatrutide Explained.

The Fifth Circuit upheld the FDA's GLP-1 shortage decisions.

On August 27, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided two appeals brought by the Outsourcing Facilities Association and other compounders: one over tirzepatide (the medication in Mounjaro and Zepbound) and one over semaglutide (the medication in Ozempic and Wegovy). In both cases, the court upheld the FDA's determinations that the national shortages had ended, finding that the agency reasonably relied on the manufacturers' supply data. The semaglutide opinion was revised on September 1, 2026.

Why that matters: while a drug is on the FDA's shortage list, compounders are given temporary extra room to make copies of it. With the shortages officially over and the court's ruling in place, that temporary allowance is gone. Mass-produced, near-identical copies, the model behind many online GLP-1 sellers, no longer have a shortage to rely on.

The FDA's advisory committee backed six peptides.

The Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) is the independent panel of physicians, pharmacists, and scientists that advises the FDA on compounding policy. At its July meeting, the committee reviewed seven peptides nominated for the 503A bulk substances list, the official list of ingredients that state-licensed compounding pharmacies are permitted to compound with. It was the committee's most significant peptide-focused meeting since the FDA's 2023 reclassification narrowed which peptides pharmacies could work with.

The results, peptide by peptide:

Votes recommend adding each peptide to the FDA's 503A bulk substances list. All six favorable votes were split, not unanimous; the day-one peptides passed 8–6 (MOTS-c 7–5), each with abstentions. Vote counts as reported in trade coverage of the meeting; see sources below.

The discussion was not one-sided. FDA scientific staff raised concerns during the meeting, including limited published efficacy data for some nominations and questions about peptide impurities. The committee majority weighed those concerns against the view that licensed prescribers and pharmacists are positioned to judge suitability for individual patients. Both perspectives are part of the record the FDA will now consider.

Familiar names, for good reason.

If you are a Vesta patient, several of the peptides on the committee's list will sound familiar: BPC-157, TB-500, KPV, MOTS-c, and Epithalon are all names from the world of regenerative and metabolic peptide care that our practice works in every day. Nothing about your care changes as a result of this meeting. Vesta's model is the same as it was last month: therapies are prescribed by a licensed provider after a consultation and labs where appropriate, and sourced exclusively through regulated, state-licensed 503A compounding pharmacies. Read more about that standard in our 503A promise.

What this news does change is the conversation. Peptide therapy has spent years in a regulatory gray zone that made honest patient education harder than it should be. A formal, public, on-the-record review by the FDA's own advisory committee, with favorable votes for six peptides, moves that conversation into the open, and it validates something we have long believed: that the right way to do peptide medicine is with provider oversight and regulated pharmacies, not gray-market vials sold online as "research use only." If you are curious what provider-led peptide therapy looks like, start with our peptide therapy overview or our guide to choosing a peptide clinic.

We upgraded our phone system.

Our practice outgrew the phone setup we started with. To keep up with the volume of calls and texts we now receive every day, and in response to patient feedback asking for easier, more reliable ways to reach us, we moved to a dedicated business line.

There is no rush and nothing to worry about: our old number will remain active for the next 12 months, so if you call or text it you will still reach us. Going forward, though, the new number is the best and fastest way to get in touch.

Expanded memberships.

Over the past couple of months we have rolled out additional membership lengths and terms, many of them added directly at the request of our patients. Every membership includes provider oversight and individualized treatment planning, telehealth consultations, direct provider messaging, lab coordination, premium medication pricing with savings of up to 40% compared to a la carte, larger vial sizes when clinically appropriate, and 10% off aesthetic services.

• Up to two free follow-up visits per month, a members-only benefit, available whenever you feel they are needed
• Only one follow-up visit is required every three months to maintain active prescriptions and ensure safe ongoing treatment, in line with industry standards for medications of all kinds

All memberships may also be paid in full for an additional 10% discount.

New to couples memberships: health goals are easier to reach with support and accountability from someone important in your life. Couples receive additional savings with the same level of provider oversight, and when clinically appropriate and desired by both patients, couples may complete follow-up visits together. Full details on the memberships page.

More medication & peptide options.

One of the most exciting developments is the significant expansion of our treatment options. In addition to our existing weight loss programs, we now offer a much broader range of wellness therapies, hormone optimization support, and peptide treatments through our growing network of trusted 503A compounding pharmacy partners. Many of these therapies were added because patients asked for them by name.

Unlike products commonly marketed online as "research use only" or sourced through unregulated gray-market channels, everything offered through Vesta is prescribed and medically managed by a licensed healthcare provider and sourced through regulated 503A compounding pharmacies operating under federal and state quality standards. Read more in our 503A promise.

Laboratory testing.

Laboratory testing is ordered only when clinically appropriate and is billed separately. Lab work is processed through independent third-party laboratories such as LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics. Because these are third-party services, Vesta does not control laboratory pricing and cannot apply referral credits or discounts toward laboratory costs.