🎙 The Weekly Dose: The Obesity Society Infuriates Obesity Community with Anti-Compound Congressional Briefing

Buckle Up, this one was a doozy...

By Dave Knapp | On The Pen📍 Recorded July 22, 2025 | 🎧 Listen to the full podcast | 📺 Watch on YouTube

Today’s podcast was recorded just moments after sitting through a congressional briefing hosted by The Obesity Society. It was centered on one topic: the safety of compounded GLP-1 medications. Let me catch you up on what went down, because this one was wildly infuriating.

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This wasn’t just a routine info session. It coincided with the release of a sharply worded policy paper from former FDA official Peter Pitts titled “FDA Regulatory Failures in Enforcing Limits on GLP-1 Compounding Puts Patients at Risk.” And while the paper presents itself as a call for safety, let me be clear: it reads like a playbook handed directly to big pharma.

The 1,500% Headline That’s Missing the Math

At the heart of Pitts’ paper, and the briefing, was one headline:A 1,500% spike in adverse events tied to compounded GLP-1s.Alarming, right? It’s meant to be.

But here’s what was never said in the paper, and never said aloud at the briefing either:

➡️ The Outsourcing Facilities Association has publicly stated that 80 million doses of compounded semaglutide were dispensed last year alone. Add in tirzepatide, and we’re likely talking about over 100 million compounded doses last year.

So here’s the question:

Did anyone bother to calculate adverse events per dose, and compare that to branded GLP-1 medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro?

Because that’s the only metric that actually matters if you’re trying to claim compounded medications are inherently unsafe.

They didn’t ask that. They didn’t answer that.And yet the 1,500% stat got repeated like gospel.

This was a one-sided presentation, an anti-compounding, pro-branded GLP-1 hit job dressed in public health clothing. And I’m saying that as someone who deeply respects The Obesity Society and credits them for the work they've done to elevate obesity treatment in medicine. But this briefing? It wasn’t advocacy. It was ammunition.

Who Gets Hurt?

The people who get hurt by this are not the folks sitting on policy panels. They’re not the former FDA execs writing white papers. The people who get hurt are the patients.

The patients in states where insurance still doesn’t cover these medications.

The patients paying $700 out of pocket for a branded option while trying to work two jobs and stay alive.

The patients who finally found a compounded version that works, and are now being told they’re reckless for taking it.

Let’s Be Honest

There’s plenty of room to debate compound safety. I’ve said before that the 503A gray zone is objectively murky. We’ve all seen shady telehealth marketing and questionable dosing and presentations.

But we need those conversations to be honest, not rigged. And today’s briefing wasn’t that.

We need to ask:

• Are adverse events higher per dose in compounded meds?

• What are the real-world risks versus theoretical ones?

• Where are the patients in these conversations?

Because a 1,500% spike means nothing without context. And without context, all you’ve done is hand big pharma a headline and told patients to sit down and shut up.

🎒 Now Packing for D.C.

As you read this, I’m packing my bags. I leave at 6 a.m. tomorrow for Washington D.C. to advocate on Capitol Hill alongside the Obesity Action Coalition. We’ll be meeting with lawmakers, sharing patient stories, and pushing for access, not just to branded medications, but to treatment itself.

And on top of that, we’re hosting our very first live community event at Topgolf D.C. later this week. I hope to see some of you there. If you’re coming, say hi. And if you’re not, drop a comment below:

👉 What kind of content do you want to see from D.C.?More behind-the-scenes? Policy briefings? Vlog-style updates?Let me know… I’m bringing the camera and the mic either way.

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