Pharmacists & Compounders Speak On Shortage, Express Concerns About Research Peptides

[noteablequotable]

Interesting interview with a panel of pharmacists and compounders about their experience on the Tirzepatide shortage. Validates a lot of what patients are saying, but it's also feels like the first time I've seen a medical professional publicly express concern about "Research Grade" peptides.

It's timestamped for desktop, but starts at 17:50

 

[brentm]

Sounds like it was mostly product cleanliness concerns. Not that there aren't other concerns, but it was "pulls the top off", "no preservatives", and the "not for human use" aspects of research grade.

All valid concerns. But I've rarely seen use of preservative-free bac water for recon. Recommendation is always Hospira bac water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a bacteriostatic preservative.

I suppose when you black label water from China, those could be concerns.

Overlooked concerns about non-FDA approved molecules.

Great find on the video, thanks for sharing!

 

[Glp1judd]

Glad they are advocating for more access, but hard to appreciate them when they are STILL charging many hundreds a month for their deliveries.

I may be wrong, but aren’t THEY also simply reconstituting research grade peptides? I don’t think Eli Lilly is giving them official powder are they?

So it’s kind of crocodile tears. Primarily worried about their profits, and that includes keeping their prices high by disparaging “research grade”

 

[AndyPanda]

Glad they are advocating for more access, but hard to appreciate them when they are STILL charging many hundreds a month for their deliveries.

I may be wrong, but aren’t THEY also simply reconstituting research grade peptides? I don’t think Eli Lilly is giving them official powder are they?

So it’s kind of crocodile tears. Primarily worried about their profits, and that includes keeping their prices high by disparaging “research grade”

It is all about the money. Always is.

 

[noteablequotable]

Sounds like it was mostly product cleanliness concerns. Not that there aren't other concerns, but it was "pulls the top off", "no preservatives", and the "not for human use" aspects of research grade.

All valid concerns. But I've rarely seen use of preservative-free bac water for recon. Recommendation is always Hospira bac water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a bacteriostatic preservative.

Agree. I think those concerns may be valid for the average user (he mentioned Facebook), but definitely not people on forums like this.

It was a very interesting watch. I mostly decided to share because I've been closely tracking mentions of grey market/research peptides. The more attention this space gets the more likely it is that some kind of action will be taken to curb our access, and we appear to be getting closer to that point every day.

Right now compounders are Lilly's biggest problem, but researchers are a problem too insofar as we represent lost revenue. There is no incentive to buy from Lilly once everyone has met their research objectives. Those dollars will be gone forever.

 

[noteablequotable]

Glad they are advocating for more access, but hard to appreciate them when they are STILL charging many hundreds a month for their deliveries.

I may be wrong, but aren’t THEY also simply reconstituting research grade peptides? I don’t think Eli Lilly is giving them official powder are they?

So it’s kind of crocodile tears. Primarily worried about their profits, and that includes keeping their prices high by disparaging “research grade”

To be fair the specific person who made that comment (and most of the people on the call) is a pharmacist, so he is likely selling the official stuff from Lilly and dealing with lots of desperate patients. To traditional medical professionals who don't understand what we're doing it must look very scary, especially when it seems like most people are getting their information from Facebook and Twitter.

 

[mostlydamp]

When it comes to health literacy, the general population is lackluster, so the concern is valid. Part of that is manipulation by corporations, part of it is lack of education, and a big chunk of it is intellectual laziness.

I teach families how to care for their loved ones as a career. Sometimes you have to dumb things waaaaaay down to get people to understand it and I guarantee a lot of them are functionally illiterate. Most people seemed confused about how masks or hand washing worked during the pandemic, so that should tell you something. If those people get a hold of research peptides, there is no way they can be safe about it.

I still don't think we should restrict things though, what it means is that we need to be open about these peptides so we can provide education like people do at this forum.

 

[diver22]

Interesting interview with a panel of pharmacists and compounders about their experience on the Tirzepatide shortage. Validates a lot of what patients are saying, but it's also feels like the first time I've seen a medical professional publicly express concern about "Research Grade" peptides.

It's timestamped for desktop, but starts at 17:50

Great video… thanks for sharing .

 

[mostlydamp]

It is all about the money. Always is.

I think for many of these practitioners it may not be about the money. Money factors in for some providers, but I have met many physicians and pharmacists who are amazingly selfless and will do anything for their patients no matter whether it makes money or not. For example physicians that work all day 6-7 days a week and then agree to take 24/7 call for their patient who is in Hospice care. I feel selfless as a nurse sometimes but these type of people are absolute saints. So, sometimes not about the money.

 

[noteablequotable]

When it comes to health literacy, the general population is lackluster, so the concern is valid. Part of that is manipulation by corporations, part of it is lack of education, and a big chunk of it is intellectual laziness.

....

I still don't think we should restrict things though, what it means is that we need to be open about these peptides so we can provide education like people do at this forum.

I completely agree. I think that when this space finally receives some heavy scrutiny it will be much better for us if it looks like there is a serious effort to enforce ethical behavior, safe practices, and informed decision making. There is no entity or interest group to speak for us so we are very vulnerable to public perception.

 

[rkl123]

The more attention this space gets the more likely it is that some kind of action will be taken to curb our access, and we appear to be getting closer to that point every day.

This is why I’m buying a bunch of bac water to have a hoarde. Until there’s a good enough Chinese bac, it is a weakness we have.

 

[mopo89]

My dad was a pharmacist and I’ve always wondered what his take would be on glp1s and specifically on me using research peptides. He was a very caring pharmacist so I’d like to think that he’d approve as long as I was being careful and I really hope that he’s not rolling over in his grave everytime I inject myself

It always stressed him out when there was a shortage of medication. I remember for a while, my birth control medication was on back order but I was allergic to the generic brand and my dad was on the phone everyday at work trying to get it in. I can only imagine he’d have done the same with his patients on glp1s and tried to find alternatives for them.

 

[DwightTheDelight]

My dad was a pharmacist and I’ve always wondered what his take would be on glp1s and specifically on me using research peptides. He was a very caring pharmacist so I’d like to think that he’d approve as long as I was being careful and I really hope that he’s not rolling over in his grave everytime I inject myself

It always stressed him out when there was a shortage of medication. I remember for a while, my birth control medication was on back order but I was allergic to the generic brand and my dad was on the phone everyday at work trying to get it in. I can only imagine he’d have done the same with his patients on glp1s and tried to find alternatives for them.

Your Dad sounds like he was a good dude. We could really use some of his caring attitude these days.

 

[nonyabizznez]

Thanks so much for posting this!

For many this isn't a cottage industry, it's an estate industry. Years ago my partner was a server at a high end steak house in a convention hotel and was always blown away at the crazy good tips during the annual tanning salon owner's convention... They had money to blow! I get those vibes from the local health & weight loss spas, sending you home with loaded syringes and what not.

Later in the video a speaker makes the distinction between the prescriber and pharmacy source. Basically saying the pharmacy is there to fulfill the orders from the prescriber which seems obvious. I wonder what his thoughts would be on the prescriber being the pharmacy? (or owning, or a vested interest). Whether for greed or insulation these telehealth companies that do both might be an example Lilly will use to bring down all the good intentions of those who participated in this meeting.

 

[JKLIN]

Glad they are advocating for more access, but hard to appreciate them when they are STILL charging many hundreds a month for their deliveries.

I may be wrong, but aren’t THEY also simply reconstituting research grade peptides? I don’t think Eli Lilly is giving them official powder are they?

So it’s kind of crocodile tears. Primarily worried about their profits, and that includes keeping their prices high by disparaging “research grade”

Good question. I've been wondering where these pharmacies get the peptide in the first place.

 

[amawgmd]

This whole experience has really made upset me with the US healthcare system (its not the only thing). Eli saying that compounded meds are bad while overcharging us is insane. The only reason I am moving to researching these chemicals is because of their pricing.

Semaglutide / mo
US: 936
Canada: 147
UK: 93

Why is it ten times more expensive here? Because it can be. I have held for a while now that the US is subsidizing these other countries medical costs because we do not negotiate like other countries. UK wants a lower price? Fine we will up the price in the US. They should not able to charge the US more than any G7 country.

In general a US patient cannot get these drugs through insurance unless they are diabetic. If you're pre-diabetic your're going to have to wait. If your morbidly obese but not diabetic, sorry, eat more sugar.

These drugs should be thought of as preventive care and covered as such.

 

[Glp1judd]

Yep

 

[AndyPanda]

This whole experience has really made upset me with the US healthcare system (its not the only thing). Eli saying that compounded meds are bad while overcharging us is insane. The only reason I am moving to researching these chemicals is because of their pricing.

Semaglutide / mo
US: 936
Canada: 147
UK: 93

Why is it ten times more expensive here? Because it can be. I have held for a while now that the US is subsidizing these other countries medical costs because we do not negotiate like other countries. UK wants a lower price? Fine we will up the price in the US. They should not able to charge the US more than any G7 country.

In general a US patient cannot get these drugs through insurance unless they are diabetic. If you're pre-diabetic your're going to have to wait. If your morbidly obese but not diabetic, sorry, eat more sugar.

These drugs should be thought of as preventive care and covered as such.

This hit a nerve. Lol. I was typing a diatribe but it was becoming political so just stopped. In short, the US subsidizes everything.

 

[diver22]

This hit a nerve. Lol. I was typing a diatribe but it was becoming political so just stopped. In short, the US subsidized everything.

But he kinda has a point! I feel that the government has to put pressure on these insurance companies.

 

[AndyPanda]

But he kinda has a point! I feel that the government has to put pressure on these insurance companies.

I agree. I didn’t have a problem with what they said, as it was completely valid. I have a problem with the reality of it.