When online weight-loss drugs are too good to be true

February 17, 2025

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(NPR) – For customers using a telehealth website to get cheaper versions of popular obesity drugs, the low prices turned out to be too good to be true.

Customers of Zappy Health tell NPR they were drawn to the online provider by its low prices, its lack of subscription fees and its handy smartphone app with a chat feature for patients to talk to one another during their weight-loss journeys.

The Zappy chat was ultimately how many customers first learned that Ousia Pharmacy — one of several pharmacies that supplied Zappy with compounded obesity drugs — didn’t have a required license, one that ensured the drugs were produced in accordance with safety and potency standards. (Read More)