Pharmacist Jobs

Compounding Pharmacist Jobs

Pharmaceutical compounding is a branch of pharmacy that continues to play the crucial role of drug development. Compounding pharmacists and medicinal chemists develop and test pharmaceutical formulation for new drugs so that the active ingredients are effective, stable, easy to use, and acceptable to patients. Compounding pharmacies provide medications that are individually formulated to meet the patients specific health care needs. Compounding is the practice of preparing drugs in new forms, that is the mixing of drugs by a pharmacist, physician or veterinarian to fit the unique needs of a patient.

For example, if a drug manufacturer only provides a drug as a tablet, a compounding pharmacist might make a medicated lollipop that contains the drug. Patients who have difficulty swallowing the tablet may prefer to suck the medicated lollipop instead. This may be done for medically necessary reasons, such as to change the form of the medication from a solid pill to a liquid, to avoid a non-essential ingredient that the patient is allergic to, or to obtain the exact dose needed. It may also be done for voluntary reasons, such as adding favorite flavors to a medication. Another form of compounding is by mixing different strengths, (g, mg, mcg) of capsules or tablets to yield the desire therapy indicated by the doctor. This form of compounding is found at community or hospital pharmacies or in-home administration therapy. Compounding pharmacies specialize in compounding, although many also dispense the same non-compounded drugs that patients can obtain from community pharmacies.

Physicians may prescribe an individually compounded medication for a patient with an unusual health need. This allows the physician to tailor a prescription to each individual. Compounding preparations are especially prevalent for:

1.Patients requiring limited dosage strengths, such as a very small dose for infants.
2.Patients requiring a different formulation, such as turning a pill into a liquid or transdermal gel for people who cant swallow pills due to disability.
3.Patients requiring an allergen-free medication, such as one without gluten or colored dyes.
4.Patients who need drugs that have been discontinued by pharmaceutical manufacturers because of low profitability.
5.Children who want flavored additives in liquid drugs, usually so that the medication tastes like candy or fruit.
6.Veterinary medicine, for a change in dose, change to a more easily-administered form (such as from a pill to a liquid or transdermal gel), or to add a flavor more palatable to the animal.
7.Many types of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy where compounding is used to promote (without justification) the idea of individualized prescriptions.
The most common bio-identical hormones are estrogen’s and progesterone’s designed to relieve the symptoms of menopause and hormonal imbalances and compounding pharmacies are the source of these hormones. Compounding pharmacies make these hormones from ingredients that come from plants such as yams.

Compounding pharmacist jobs are comparatively less then other but offers good scope and package, minimum education must be that of a researcher post masters degree. In India, major pharma companies who have a research and development wing in India hires compunding pharmacists.