Glossary
Also written compounded; compounding
A compounded drug is prepared by a licensed pharmacy or an outsourcing facility rather than manufactured under an FDA approval. Compounding is lawful in defined circumstances and is a real part of medical practice; a compounded preparation is nonetheless not an approved drug.
The consequence is stated on every page of this site: compounded drugs are not FDA-approved and are not reviewed by the FDA for safety, effectiveness, or manufacturing quality. Lawful and reviewed are different properties, and a molecule can hold the first without the second.