The growth of a pharmaceutical industry not regulated by the FDA
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At their most basic, compound drugs are those where ingredients have been combined, mixed, or altered by a pharmacist to meet the particular needs of an individual patient. If, for example, a patient is allergic to an ingredient in a commercially available drug, a pharmacist can compound a similar drug without the offending ingredient. According to the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, an industry group that promotes the practice, compound drugs now make up between one and three percent of the nation’s $300 billion prescription drug market, and the practice occurs in some form in many pharmacies and hospitals. Compound drugs are not FDA-regulated. And pharmacies are not required to report adverse events associated with compound drugs to the federal agency. Instead, regulation of compound drugs falls to each state’s pharmacy board.Simon Owens is an assistant managing editor at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Email him at sowens@usnews.com
