How Eli Lilly’s Lawsuits Are Disrupting Telehealth Weight Loss

The weight loss telehealth gold rush just hit a wall. On the heels of a rapid rise in GLP-1-based weight loss treatments, Eli Lilly has launched a fresh round of lawsuits against major telehealth startups including Mochi Health, Fella Health, Delilah, Willow Health Services, and Henry Meds. The allegation? These companies are illegally selling compounded versions of Eli Lilly’s blockbuster drugs—Zepbound and Mounjaro—despite a clear FDA warning that the legal justification for doing so no longer exists.

Eli Lilly vs. Compounded GLP-1s: What’s the Fight About?

At the heart of the legal battle is tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro. During an official shortage, compounding pharmacies and telehealth providers found a workaround: create and distribute compounded versions under the guise of “personalized medicine.” This allowed them to legally sidestep FDA approvals—at least temporarily.

But the drug is no longer in short supply. And Eli Lilly, backed by the FDA’s guidance, is making it clear: the loophole has closed.

What Is Compounded Tirzepatide—and Why Is It Controversial?

“Compounded” drugs are typically made in small batches tailored to an individual’s medical needs. Think one-off prescriptions prepared in a compounding pharmacy—not mass-market weight loss solutions.

Eli Lilly’s lawsuits claim these telehealth startups aren’t doing patient-by-patient compounding at all. Instead, they’re mass-producing chemically identical versions of tirzepatide under the false pretense of personalization—without the safety testing, regulatory oversight, or clinical trials required of branded drugs.

FDA Crackdown: Timeline and Expectations

The FDA has stepped in with clear deadlines for phasing out compounded versions of both tirzepatide and semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy). But some telehealth players are pushing back, claiming their “custom treatment plans” justify continued sales.

In short: The window for this workaround is closing fast—and lawsuits are ramping up.

The Legal War Is a Marketing War

This fight isn’t just about IP or drug safety. It’s also a battle over public perception.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are aggressively framing compounded versions as “dangerous knockoffs,” while telehealth companies promote them as “affordable, individualized care.” The lawsuits are littered with references to marketing tactics—from influencer campaigns and patient testimonials to language used on landing pages.

Lilly’s core legal claims include:

• Deceptive marketing of unapproved drug versions
  
  

• Misuse of “personalized care” language for mass-produced meds
  
  

• Promotion of drugs for cosmetic weight loss (off-label use)
  
  

• Undermining FDA safety standards
  
  
  

High-Risk Phrases in Telehealth Marketing

If you’re in the healthtech or wellness space, here’s what might land you in trouble:

• “Personalized” or “custom treatments” (if meds are batch-produced)
  
  

• “FDA-approved” (if the compound is not approved)
  
  

• “Safe” or “clinically tested” (without supporting evidence)
  
  

• “Affordable alternative” (can imply therapeutic equivalence)
  
  

• Weight loss before/after photos and testimonials (seen as off-label promotion)
  
  

Even if the underlying product operates in a regulatory gray zone, your marketing can’t.

Industry Shake-Up: What Happens Next?

Eli Lilly has already filed lawsuits against more than two dozen clinics, compounding pharmacies, and wellness brands. Novo Nordisk is on the same warpath. The FDA’s compound enforcement deadlines (April and May 2025) are set, and all signs point to more lawsuits—and possible enforcement actions.

What’s at stake? A multi-billion dollar weight loss market built on GLP-1 injections, much of it priced far below the brand-name versions. That affordability pitch was central to telehealth’s explosive growth—but it’s also what’s drawing heat.

Final Takeaway

The telehealth weight loss boom was fast, profitable, and largely unregulated. But that era is ending. With Big Pharma, the FDA, and the courts all aligned, the next phase of this market will depend on regulatory compliance, transparent marketing, and a willingness to leave shortcuts behind.

Your products might live in a legal gray area.
But your marketing? It better not.