Empower Pharmacy bills itself as "the nation's largest, most advanced 503A compounding pharmacy and 503B outsourcing facility." Based in Houston, Texas, they compound semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide, and dozens of other medications across nine therapeutic areas. They're PCAB-accredited and FDA-registered. However, a 1.9 Trustpilot rating, four FDA warning letters since 2017, California pharmacy license probation for "adulterated" vitamin injections, and a 2025 lawsuit from Eli Lilly for misleading tirzepatide marketing paint a troubling picture. Here's our complete analysis.
What Is Empower Pharmacy?
Empower Pharmacy is different from most providers we review—it's a compounding pharmacy, not a telehealth platform. They don't prescribe medications; they compound and fill prescriptions written by your doctor or a telehealth provider. Many telehealth GLP-1 companies use Empower (or pharmacies like it) as their compounding partner. You can also order directly from Empower with a valid prescription.
Operating under both 503A (patient-specific) and 503B (outsourcing facility) FDA classifications, Empower compounds medications across men's health, women's health, dermatology, hormone replacement, weight management, IV therapy, longevity, sexual health, and mental health. Their trending products include semaglutide/cyanocobalamin injections, tirzepatide formulations, testosterone cypionate, NAD+ injections, and HCG preparations.
The scale is impressive—they're the largest compounding pharmacy in the nation with a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. They offer a 25% discount for uniformed services personnel and ship nationwide including Puerto Rico. However, the regulatory issues documented in over 150 pages of FDA documents, combined with poor customer reviews, raise serious questions about whether scale equates to quality.
What They Offer
- Compounded Semaglutide/Cyanocobalamin Injection
- Compounded Tirzepatide formulations
- Compounded Liraglutide
- Semaglutide/Methylcobalamin ODT (orally disintegrating tablet)
- Nine therapeutic categories of compounded medications
- 503A (patient-specific) and 503B (outsourcing) compounding
- PCAB-accredited facility
- Nationwide shipping including Puerto Rico (ground and overnight)
- 25% military/uniformed services discount
- Online prescription refill portal
- Discreet packaging available
As a pharmacy rather than a telehealth platform, Empower requires you to have a prescription from your own doctor or a separate telehealth provider. This is an additional step that telehealth-first providers like CoreAge Rx handle seamlessly within their service.
Empower Pharmacy Pricing
Empower Pharmacy does not publicly display pricing on their website. You must contact them, access their product catalog, or have your prescriber request pricing. This lack of transparency is a significant drawback for consumers trying to compare costs.
Pricing Overview:
- Semaglutide/Cyanocobalamin: Pricing not publicly listed
- Tirzepatide: Pricing not publicly listed
- Prescription Required: You must have your own prescription
- Consultation: Not provided (pharmacy only)
- Shipping: Ground and overnight options available
- Military Discount: 25% for uniformed services
Note: Empower is a pharmacy, not a telehealth provider. You'll need a separate prescription and potentially a separate telehealth consultation fee on top of Empower's medication cost.
Check Empower Pharmacy's website for pricing details →The pharmacy-only model means your total cost includes both the medication from Empower and any consultation fees from your prescribing physician or telehealth provider. This two-step process is more complex and potentially more expensive than integrated telehealth providers that include consultation, prescription, and medication in a single monthly fee.
My Experience With Empower Pharmacy
Ordering Process
Ordering from Empower requires having a valid prescription sent by your healthcare provider. The pharmacy fills the prescription and ships it to you. The online portal allows prescription refills, which is convenient for ongoing treatment. However, the process is less seamless than integrated telehealth providers where everything happens on one platform.
Medication Quality Concerns
This is where Empower's story gets complicated. Some customers report that "semaglutide+B12 works exactly as it should" with vials "securely packaged" and GLP-1 tirzepatide "always arriving cold and in a nice cooler." These positive experiences indicate the pharmacy can deliver quality product.
However, other customers report alarming experiences. Some believe they received ineffective product, stating that "all physical benefits of semaglutide stopped" after switching to Empower—including "increased hunger, halted weight loss, and inflamed joints." While individual responses to compounded medications can vary, the volume of such complaints is concerning.
Customer Service
Customer service reviews are predominantly negative. Multiple reviewers describe the pharmacy as "disorganized," noting they "don't follow up and require repeated customer contact." Delayed shipments and communication breakdowns are recurring themes. The 1.9 Trustpilot average and 2.1 Yelp rating reflect widespread customer dissatisfaction with the service experience.
Overall Experience: Empower Pharmacy has the scale and infrastructure to produce quality compounded medications, and some customers receive excellent product. However, the regulatory issues, inconsistent product quality reports, and poor customer service create too much uncertainty for a pharmacy handling your health-critical medications.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Nation's largest compounding pharmacy — massive scale and infrastructure
- PCAB-accredited — recognized quality accreditation
- FDA-registered 503A/503B facility
- Wide medication catalog — nine therapeutic categories
- 25% military discount
- Nationwide shipping including Puerto Rico
- ODT (orally disintegrating tablet) semaglutide option
- Some customers report excellent product quality
Cons
- 1.9 Trustpilot rating — very poor customer satisfaction
- Four FDA warning letters since 2017 — repeated regulatory failures
- California license probation (2023) for "adulterated" vitamin injections
- Sued by Eli Lilly (April 2025) for misleading tirzepatide marketing
- Reports of ineffective product — customers report medication "stopped working"
- Poor customer service — disorganized, requires repeated contact
- No pricing transparency — costs not publicly listed
- Pharmacy only — no consultation included, needs separate prescription
- Delayed shipments and communication breakdowns reported
Is Empower Pharmacy Legit?
Empower Pharmacy is a real, licensed compounding pharmacy—but their regulatory track record raises serious concerns about quality and compliance.
On one hand, Empower is PCAB-accredited, FDA-registered as a 503B outsourcing facility, and operates the largest compounding pharmacy in the nation. These are real credentials that indicate substantial infrastructure and investment.
On the other hand, the Houston Chronicle documented more than 150 pages of regulatory documents showing the company has "repeatedly been admonished by the FDA for failing to follow federal rules that ensure drug safety and quality." Four warning letters and an untitled letter from the FDA since 2017, California pharmacy license probation in 2023 for distributing "adulterated" vitamin injections, and a 2025 lawsuit from Eli Lilly for allegedly marketing unapproved tirzepatide compounds using misleading claims—this is an unusually extensive regulatory history for any pharmacy.
- PCAB-accredited and FDA-registered — legitimate credentials
- Nation's largest compounding pharmacy
- Four FDA warning letters since 2017 — repeated compliance failures
- California pharmacy license probation (2023)
- Eli Lilly lawsuit (April 2025) for misleading tirzepatide marketing
- 1.9 Trustpilot / 2.1 Yelp ratings — poor customer satisfaction
- 150+ pages of FDA regulatory documents
Who Is Empower Pharmacy Best For?
Empower Pharmacy may work for patients whose doctor specifically prescribes from Empower and who want the ODT semaglutide option or need specialized compounded formulations not available elsewhere. The military discount makes it more affordable for service members. Some healthcare practitioners have established relationships with Empower and prefer their formulations.
Empower is not the best fit if: You want an integrated telehealth experience (Empower is pharmacy-only), you're concerned about regulatory compliance (the FDA warning letters are real), or you want reliable customer service. For most patients seeking GLP-1 weight loss, an integrated telehealth provider like CoreAge Rx offers a simpler, more reliable experience.
Final Verdict: Is Empower Pharmacy Worth It?
Despite their scale and accreditation, Empower Pharmacy's regulatory issues and poor customer reviews make it difficult to recommend.
Empower has the infrastructure to produce quality medications, and some patients genuinely receive excellent product. The PCAB accreditation and massive facility indicate real investment in compounding capability. The military discount and wide medication catalog serve specific patient populations well.
However, four FDA warning letters, California license probation, an Eli Lilly lawsuit, a 1.9 Trustpilot rating, and consistent reports of ineffective medication and poor service paint a troubling picture. For patients who have the choice, there are compounding pharmacies and integrated telehealth providers with cleaner regulatory records and better customer satisfaction.
My recommendation: For most patients, an integrated telehealth provider like CoreAge Rx at $99/month offers a simpler, safer path to GLP-1 medication. They handle the prescription, compounding (through their pharmacy partners), and delivery in one streamlined process—without the regulatory baggage that follows Empower.
Simpler, Integrated Alternative
CoreAge Rx handles consultation, prescription, and medication delivery at $99/month—no separate pharmacy needed.
The Bottom Line
Empower Pharmacy is the nation's largest compounding pharmacy with real credentials, but four FDA warning letters, license probation, an Eli Lilly lawsuit, and a 1.9 Trustpilot rating make it a provider best approached with extreme caution. For GLP-1 weight loss, integrated telehealth providers offer a safer, simpler alternative.