April 22, 2026

DENVER, CO — Today, health equity leaders across Colorado are applauding the Colorado Senate for passing SB26-066, legislation that would establish targeted consumer protections and guardrails against deceptive practices around the sale and distribution of compounded GLP-1 weight-loss medications. The bill — which now heads to the Colorado House for consideration — would protect our nation’s most vulnerable populations dealing with chronic disease (including communities disproportionately impacted by obesity) from misleading and potentially dangerous copycat GLP-1 drugs flooding the gray market that often make unverified safety and efficacy claims. 

The Health Equity Coalition for Chronic Disease (HECCD) issued the following statement following Senate passage: 

“This week’s Senate passage of SB26-066 is an important step forward in protecting Colorado patients from deceptive marketing and potentially unsafe copycat GLP-1 medications. This legislation will help ensure that vulnerable communities — especially those disproportionately impacted by chronic disease — have clearer, more transparent pathways to care and are not exploited by misleading claims in the gray market. We urge members of the Colorado House to act swiftly and build on this momentum by passing SB26-066 without delay, so that patients across the state can benefit from these critical protections as soon as possible.”

Advocacy in Support of SB26-066

HECCD partner organizations — including the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA), National Hispanic Health Foundation (NHHF), and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) — have been calling for Senate action and have spent months engaged in intensive advocacy on behalf of the Colorado communities they serve, who often lack adequate health care coverage and as a result are forced to turn to therapies that are not FDA approved — putting them at risk of serious health complications. 

In the lead up to this week’s Senate vote, the organizations have been working tirelessly to urge Colorado lawmakers to create regulations for the sale and distribution of compounded weight-loss medication at every phase of the legislative process, including offering testimony to Colorado lawmakers, issuing statements, meeting with lawmakers, and rallying public support on social media. 

“When evidence-based treatments are financially out of reach, alternative markets often fill the void. For Latino seniors — who are more likely to experience poverty and lower retirement savings — aggressive telehealth advertising can feel like a lifeline. But without transparency, that lifeline may be unsafe,” NHCOA asserted in testimony submitted last month.

“When legitimate obesity treatment is unaffordable or uncovered by insurance, people look elsewhere. And the market has responded. Not with patient protections, but with aggressive, deceptive advertising. We are especially concerned about Spanish-language and culturally targeted marketing that fails to clearly explain that compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, have not undergone the same safety review, and may carry unknown risks. When advertising obscures these distinctions, it exploits trust,” NHHF asserted in its testimony to Colorado lawmakers. 

“For Latino families and other underserved communities, the goal should never be framed as a choice between access and safety. Patients deserve both. They deserve medications that are safe, transparently sourced, reliably dosed, and responsibly regulated,” LULAC said in its testimony. 

Beyond formal testimony, the groups sent direct statements to all Colorado State Senators — thanking members who supported the bill in committee and underscoring the real-world stakes. This included highlighting patient stories, such as a Kentucky woman who developed liver failure after using a compounded GLP-1 product, to show that people have already been harmed by compounded medications. The groups followed up with additional written communications to the full Senate urging final passage, and have taken to social media to elevate the issue publicly.

Advocacy to Combat Compounded Medications 

HECCD has long advocated for stronger patient protections. Earlier this year, HECCD applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for announcing a series of new actions and steps to combat the proliferation and marketing of non–FDA-approved compounded, or “copycat,” GLP-1 obesity drugs, arguing that “Strengthening oversight and curbing misleading marketing are important steps in protecting patients’ health and upholding the integrity of the FDA approval process.” 

Last fall, HECCD joined with the National Consumers League (NCL) and a dozen other prominent national advocacy leaders (including LULAC, MANA, and NHCOA) to petition the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — asking them “to undertake a thorough investigation of the pervasive, deceptive and misleading marketing practices of telehealth platforms.” The petition argued, “these practices expose consumers to unsubstantiated claims and misleading inferences regarding safety, efficacy and the comparability of the ingredients used in compounded GLP1 products as compared to FDA approved products.” 

Colorado’s SB26-066 represents an opportunity for the state to take action and establish commonsense consumer protections that patients have long deserved. With non-FDA approved GLP-1 medications more accessible than ever, Colorado’s House must now join the Senate in not allowing this gray market to continue operating unchecked at the expense of underserved communities.

More information about the dangers of GLP-1 copycat medications for patients and consumers can be found at NCL’s website here or in their policy report here.