Compounded vs Commercial Medications: Key Differences

You feel sick and your doctor prescribes medicine to you; generally, you purchase your medicines at the pharmacy. In most instances, it is a commercial drug that you receive, an off-the-shelf pill or syrup that everyone takes. However, there is a case when people require the other sort of medicine, something that is created just for them. Then, that is what we discuss in terms of Compounded Vs Commercial Medications.
The ones manufactured by large pharmaceutical companies are the commercial ones. They are manufactured in large quantities, FDA-approved drugs that are available in practically every chemist’s. Conversely, the compounded prescriptions are formulated by a pharmacist under a system of pharmacy compounding. They are special drugs that can be prepared omitting some ingredients, in reduced amounts, or even prepared in liquid form.
Such a difference is important since not everyone who is a patient might have similar needs. As an example, a child might require a flavored syrup rather than a bitter pill, or the patient might be allergic to one of the ingredients of a commercially available drug. Personalized medicine on a compounding basis is where it makes a difference.
Now the question on the minds of so many people is which is superior. The argument between Compounded Vs Commercial Medications is on the increase since both have some demerits and merits. In this blog, we will be discussing the differences, when to select each, and why it is important to comprehend both prior to a health decision.

In order to have an idea of the controversy related to both compounded and commercial medications, we have to familiarize ourselves with the meaning of compounding. Compounding refers to the procedure in which a pharmacist modifies, adds, or mixes ingredients to create a personalized drug to suit a patient. Just like fitting a suit, you cannot just buy it off the rack; people make it fit your size and comfort.

Case in point, present an example with a child in need of heart medication that is only available in a bitter pill. The child does not want to swallow it, and treatment is no longer effective. In this instance, a compounding pharmacist can reformulate that pill into a syrup with a strawberry flavor so that the child can easily administer it. To take another example, it could be the case of an allergic patient to gluten or dyes used in most commercial drugs. Rather than risk reaction, the pharmacist prepares a safe form by the pharmacy compounding.

The everyday drugs in practically every pharmacy are commercial medications. The pharmaceutical companies prepare them in huge factories, and after careful testing, they are approved by the FDA. This implies that each pill or syrup contains equal strength and quality, and hence they are safe and efficacious for most individuals.

They are normally affordable, may require insurance coverage, and are also easy to access anywhere. However, they are produced in standard forms and doses, thus they might fail to be effective for patients who require specific alterations, such as varied strengths and allergy-free preparations or even liquid modalities. That is where the topic of compounding comes in: the argument between compounded and commercial drugs.

Having grasped what compounding is, it is time to take a closer look at the differences between compounded vs commercial medications. The two categories deal with patients, although very differently.

• Commercial Medication: This genre is manufactured in large quantities by drug manufacturers. They undergo rigorous testing processes, are medications that are approved by the FDA, and are mostly insurable. Their primary advantage is reliability; it is always going to be the same pill as the one before it.
• Compounded Medications: These are prepared in small groups on a patient-by-patient basis. They do not receive the same FDA approval either, as they are prepared based on prescription. The greatest advantage of them is their flexibility, resprouting in new form, dose, and/or ingredients in response to unique requirements.

Making a comparison between them is easy as follows:

• Availability: Commercial drugs are readily available in nearly all drug stores, whereas compounded drugs might be available in compound pharmacies only.
• Safety: The commercial drugs go through testing on a large scale, whereas the drugs produced through compounding rely on the expertise and quality of the compounding pharmacist.
• Personalization: Commercial drugs are of a standard size, whereas in compounding, it is possible to create patient-specific medication.

Commercial medicines are effectively usable by many patients. However, to others, such as children, old patients, and allergies, the availability of tailored remedies can be a difference between success and failure of these treatments.

Now that you understand the difference between compounded vs commercial medications, let the next question be: how are they made and where can you find them? Here is where compounding pharmacies and commercial pharmacies enter the picture.

The type most of us are familiar with is the commercial pharmacy, large retail outlets, or local drugstores that allow one to fill a prescription in a short time. They have mass-produced pharmaceuticals produced by leading pharmaceutical firms. They are standard, trials, and plentiful. As you come in with a prescription, the pharmacist provides you with the exact approved medication by the FDA as prescribed by your doctor. All is standard, the dose, the ingredients.

A compounding pharmacy does not operate in the same way. The pharmacist does this instead of simply picking a ready-benched drug off a shelf. They can increase or decrease the drug strength, eliminate a substance causing allergies, or produce pills in liquid form to be taken by patients who are unable to swallow them. Such pharmacies specialize in personal medicine, and all the preparations are based on a doctor’s prescription.

The key distinction is the following: commercial pharmacies are constructed to be fast and large; compounding pharmacies are constructed to be adaptable and unusual. Both play significant roles in the field of health, and often, the patient can require one of the two or both based on the circumstances.

Suddenly, that big decision has to be made; when does it make sense to go with the compounded rather than a commercial? Commercial drugs are effective in most people, but there are special instances where the difference is made through the use of a compounded prescription.

These are examples of when compounding is the correct decision:

• Allergies or Sensitivities: Commercial medications may contain preservatives, dyes, and gluten to which you are allergic; a compounding pharmacist can omit the ingredients in his or her formulation.
• Children and Geriatric Patients: Children usually require formulations that are in liquid or flavored and elderly patients may require different formulations. Patients with compromised health, especially the elderly, may require reduced dosage / smoother swallowing options.
• Withdrawn Drugs: Occasionally, large drug corporations discontinue a drug since it is not economical. A compounding pharmacy can replicate it on demand for patients who continue to require it.
• Special Requirement of Dosages: Not all patients are standard. Compounding lets you make highly precise strength modifications to suit your condition.

Take the case, as an example, of a cancer patient who needs to take a highly specific dosage that is not available commercially. Without compounding, the treatment would be hard. The individual medicine is not the only option in such situations, but a necessity.

And it does not imply that compounding is usually preferable. Commercial prescription drugs used to treat your condition are typically less expensive, well-proven, and insurance-friendly. However, compounding offers the way forward once the standard path ceases to be effective, and patients do not have to wait until they receive care.

How to Expert Answers: How often people ask this question: why are compounded prescriptions not FDA-approved drugs when they are so helpful? The reason is obvious: FDA approval is intended to work with drugs that are produced on a large scale, with millions of pills the same ones as each other. Because compounded prescriptions are prepared on a one-by-one basis, they can not take the same route of approval.

That does not imply that they are dangerous. State pharmacy boards still regulate compounded drugs, though a typical compounded repack drug is made by using FDA-approved ingredients, often one drug or another. Nonetheless, the customized mixture in the end is not tested in a similar manner to the commercial drugs, which is due to the uniqueness of this for each patient.

Consider this example: when you purchase a readymade cake in a bakery chain, it has been tested, standardized, and is the same all the time. Should a local baker make you a special cake using a different mix of ingredients, it cannot be “approved” in the same manner, yet it better satisfies your needs. That is the way pharmacy compounding is done. Among patients, this distinction about the choice of compounded vs commercial medications brings to the fore the need to work with reliable doctors and pharmacists.