Pharmacy compounding has a long and rich history that dates back to ancient times. In the days before pharmaceutical companies and mass-produced drugs, medical practitioners would rely on compounding to create customised medications tailored to their patients' unique needs. Later on, economies of scale and quality requirements for manufacturing transformed the process and by the 1950s, compounding in pharmacies had decreased and was replaced with mass-produced medicine.
Whereas this enabled easy access to a vast variety of products for the masses, many vulnerable patient groups still rely on extemporaneusly produced drugs. Compounded medications are essential for patients who cannot take approved medicines due to components within the medicine or for certain groups of patients, such as children, elderly patients or people with cancer.
More than 50% of medicines are unavailable for children because of unsuitable dosages.
