Compounding pharmacies sell custom-made medicines. Retail or hospital pharmacies (also known as community pharmacies) sell medicines made by manufacturers, but they can still offer certain compounded drugs. They just may not offer all the exact mixtures you need, especially if what you need must be made in a special setting to ensure safety. In that case, you may need to go to a compounding pharmacy, specifically.
Compounding pharmacies can help with strengths that are prescribed by your doctor, but not available at a regular pharmacy. They may also help you obtain a prescription that is having a shortage. They may also help lower the cost of brand name medications by compounding active ingredients. There are restrictions on when a pharmacy can do this for you.
There are approximately 7,500 compounding pharmacies throughout the United States. You can search for a local pharmacy, and some pharmacies can mail across state lines. There is a partial list of pharmacies in the right hand column.
Some commonly compounded injectables are the active ingredients in Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy.
Refer to the compounding pharmacy for instructions for your physician.
STERILE VS. NON-STERILE: Make sure your medication is available at the pharmacy prior to sending a prescription. Injectables and eye drops may only be obtained from a "sterile" pharmacy. Capsules, creams and ointments may be obtained from a "non-sterile" pharmacy.
SHIPPING: Make sure the pharmacy is able to mail to you if it is not located near you. Not all pharmacies can mail to other states, and the eligible states will change from pharmacy to pharmacy.
Yes, they fall into two categories:
503A compounding pharmacies. They can create a medication for you based on your doctor’s prescription. The compounding can’t be done by someone under supervision of a pharmacist. They’re mostly managed by the states.
503B compounding pharmacies. These are outsourcing facilities, which can make a medicine based off a prescription. They can also create large amounts of medicines and sell them to medical offices. The FDA manages most of these. They have stricter labeling rules than 503A pharmacies in an effort to avoid confusion.
Although the FDA has approved the medicines used in a compounding pharmacy, it doesn’t approve compounded drugs like they do with traditional prescription drugs, such as the dosages The FDA can’t confirm if a compounded drug is safe or effective the way that they do with manufactured drugs..
Compounding...a Customized Solution