Shaun Noorian, CEO of Empower Pharmacy, emphasized the importance of compounded medications for personalized and affordable patient care. He criticized regulatory and industry practices that complicate access to these treatments. This statement was made during a published interview.
"The most expensive part of your medication isn't the drug. It's the middleman. PBMs, wholesalers, insurance layers... they all touch the product but add zero clinical value. And patients are the ones who pay for it," said Noorian. "Most people think compounded medications are fringe. The truth? They're often the only personalized option that exists... But the system treats compounding like a loophole instead of a lifeline. Personalized medicine isn't the future. It's already here. We built Empower to bypass the noise. Our model is direct, transparent, and obsessively focused on one thing: getting quality, affordable medicine into patients' hands without friction, markup, or delay."
According to recent studies, the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists in the United States has significantly increased. The number of patients without diabetes but with overweight or obesity starting GLP-1RA treatment rose from approximately 21,000 in 2019 to over 174,000 in 2023, marking an increase of more than 700%. This surge highlights the growing demand for these medications beyond their initial indications. However, high costs and limited insurance coverage continue to pose challenges for access, prompting some patients to consider compounded alternatives.
Eli Lilly has escalated its legal actions against compounding pharmacies producing unauthorized versions of its GLP-1 medications, Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain tirzepatide as the active ingredient. In April 2025, Lilly filed lawsuits against several entities, including Empower Pharmacy, alleging the sale of unapproved compounded versions of these drugs. Empower Pharmacy argues that its compounded formulations are legally prescribed and customized for individual patients. This legal conflict emerges after the FDA announced that shortages of these medications have ended, thus limiting the compounding of such drugs.
GLP-1 medications are notably more expensive in the U.S. compared to other countries. For example, a month's supply of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is priced at $1,023 in the U.S., while it costs $444 in the Netherlands and $319 in Japan. Similarly, Wegovy is priced at $1,349 in the U.S., compared to $328 in Germany and $296 in the Netherlands. These price differences are due to factors such as the absence of government price regulation and centralized price negotiations in the U.S.
Noorian founded Empower Pharmacy in 2009 after being motivated by his personal health journey and positive experiences with compounded medications. His goal was to make such treatments more accessible. Under his leadership, Empower Pharmacy has become the largest compounding pharmacy in the United States by combining advanced technology with pharmaceutical expertise to provide affordable and customized medications on a large scale.
Empower Pharmacy is headquartered in Houston, Texas, operating both a 503A compounding pharmacy and a 503B outsourcing facility. This allows it to produce customized medications tailored to individual patient needs while supplying larger-scale pharmaceutical products. The company remains committed to expanding access to quality and affordable medications through innovative technology and scientific expertise.
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