The pharmaceutical companies behind Ozempic, Wegovy and other weight-loss meds push to prevent compounding pharmacies from making cheaper copies. They argue they can keep up with demand on their own.

Cheaper versions of Wegovy and Zepbound touted on social media could be fleeting. Copies are legal now because the brand-name drugs are in short supply. But the drugmakers are boosting production.

An NPR investigation has identified a web of more than 30 medical practices and compounding pharmacies in over a dozen states that have made claims about thymosin alpha-1 online and on social media.