Empower Pharmacy compounded GLP-1 lawsuit (Forcier v. Empower Clinic Services)

A new proposed class action says Empower Pharmacy, a large Houston compounding pharmacy, misled patients about its compounded versions of the weight-loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide. The case was filed October 30, 2026, in federal court in New Jersey.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound. According to a summary of the complaint, the plaintiffs say Empower marketed its own compounded versions as clinically proven, personalized and safely made, when they were not.

The lawsuit seeks refunds and other money for people in the U.S. who bought or received Empower's compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide. It is a new case. Nothing has been proven, no class has been certified and there is no settlement or claim form.

Empower Clinic Services, LLC, which does business as Empower Pharmacy, is a compounding pharmacy based in Houston, Texas. Its founder and chief executive is Arta Shaun Noorian, according to an FDA warning letter. The company calls itself the nation's largest compounding pharmacy.

Empower Clinic Services New Jersey LLC, which does business as Empower Pharma, is also named as a defendant. A separate 2025 lawsuit by Eli Lilly describes it as running an Empower facility in East Windsor, New Jersey.

Empower sells to healthcare providers, not directly to consumers, according to CBS News. Patients usually receive its products through a prescriber, clinic or telehealth service.

The plaintiffs are Nicholas Forcier and Tameka Watson. The complaint was filed by attorney Michael Halper, according to the court docket.

The court is the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch and U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Brendan Day.

According to public records and reporting:

• 2022 to 2025: Federal rules let compounders make copies of semaglutide and tirzepatide while the FDA listed the brand drugs as in shortage. CBS News reports that the FDA declared the shortage over in 2025.
• November 3 to 14, 2025: FDA investigators inspected Empower's Houston facility.
• September 18, 2026: The FDA sent Empower a warning letter. It said Empower compounded products that appear to be "essentially copies" of FDA-approved semaglutide and tirzepatide "regularly and in inordinate amounts."
• October 30, 2026: Forcier and Watson filed this proposed class action.

The FDA letter named three products: two tirzepatide and niacinamide injections and a semaglutide and cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) injection. It said evidence included orders with no prescriber note explaining why a patient needed a compounded version, and "significant difference" statements that appeared to be repeated word for word across many records.

The FDA also said investigators found insanitary conditions for products meant to be sterile and significant manufacturing violations. A warning letter is the agency's position. It is not a court ruling.

The plaintiffs say, according to ClaimDepot's summary of the complaint:

• Empower promoted its products with results from clinical trials of the FDA-approved drugs, though its own products were never tested in clinical trials.
• It promoted a tirzepatide and B vitamin injection using a trial of tirzepatide alone.
• It called its products personalized formulations, while selling standard formulas in fixed doses.
• Its claims of meeting strict FDA and state standards were false, citing FDA warning letters in 2017, 2021, 2025 and 2026, contamination findings at a New Jersey plant, discipline by pharmacy boards in seven states and at least three recalls.

The plaintiffs say Empower's website led them to believe the products were safe and met FDA rules. They bring claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, New York General Business Law sections 349 and 350, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, plus breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment.

Empower has not responded in court, and Class Action Pulse found no public statement about this lawsuit. After the FDA letter, Empower told CBS News it had "already remediated many of the issues outlined in the Warning Letter" and would "continue to work cooperatively with the agency."

In a separate lawsuit filed by Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro and Zepbound, Empower denies Lilly's claim that its "personalized" marketing is deceptive, according to CBS News. That case is ongoing.

The court has made no rulings on the claims. The case was filed less than a week before this article.

Not decided: whether any Empower marketing was false, whether any buyer was harmed, whether the case can proceed as a class action, and whether anyone is owed money.

The FDA's warning letter is a regulatory finding, not a court decision. Empower can respond to it, and it does not decide this lawsuit.

The proposed class covers anyone in the United States who bought or received compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide made by Empower, according to ClaimDepot.

The claims under New York and Illinois law cover only buyers in those states. You may fit if:

• Your compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide was made by Empower Pharmacy.
• You bought it or received it, including through a clinic, doctor or telehealth service.
• You live in the U.S., with added state claims for New York and Illinois buyers.

No court has defined or approved a class. Class Action Pulse has not seen the complaint's exact class wording or time period.

1. Check your label. The vial, box or pharmacy label should name the compounding pharmacy.
2. Ask your provider. If you are unsure, ask your clinic or telehealth service which pharmacy filled your prescription.
3. Keep records. Save receipts, subscription statements, prescription records and any marketing you saw.
4. Talk to your prescriber about health questions. Do not stop or change a medication based on this lawsuit alone.

This lawsuit, as described, seeks money for purchases. If you believe a compounded drug caused you a medical injury, that is a different kind of claim, and you may want to speak with a lawyer about it.

Nothing is available now. The plaintiffs seek full refunds, damages, punitive damages and Empower's profits from the sales, plus a court order requiring corrective advertising. Any payment would require a court-approved settlement or a judgment. Neither has happened.

• September 18, 2026: FDA warning letter to Empower.
• October 30, 2026: Lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

There is no claim deadline. If a class is certified or a settlement is reached, class members would normally receive notice with their options to stay in, opt out or object. You may hire your own lawyer at any time.

Compounding pharmacy: A pharmacy that mixes or changes drugs, traditionally to tailor a medicine to one patient. The FDA does not approve compounded drugs.

Essentially a copy: FDA's term for a compounded drug that is too similar to an approved drug. Federal law limits how often pharmacies can make these.

Significant difference: A prescriber's documented reason why a patient needs a changed version instead of the approved drug.

Warning letter: An FDA notice that the agency believes a company violated federal law and should fix the problems.

Unjust enrichment: A claim that a company should return money it unfairly gained.

Empower must be served and will then answer or move to dismiss. The court may set a schedule for those filings. If the case survives, the parties would exchange evidence, and the plaintiffs would later ask the court to certify a class.

The FDA matter runs separately. Empower's handling of the warning letter may also come up in the lawsuit.

Similar cases could be filed by other buyers, and courts sometimes combine related cases.

This article relies on the court docket, ClaimDepot's summary of the complaint, the FDA's September 18, 2026 warning letter, CBS News reporting and Law360's report on the filing.

Class Action Pulse could not obtain the complaint itself. Allegations, the class definition and the requested relief come from ClaimDepot's summary and have not been checked against the filing. The "nation's largest" description is Empower's own, as reported. The East Windsor facility description comes from Eli Lilly's 2025 complaint. No Empower statement about this lawsuit was found.

Class Action Pulse is not a law firm or settlement administrator and does not guarantee eligibility or payment. This article is general information, not legal advice.