NFIB/Ohio Member Profile: Central Ohio Compounding Pharmacy

Date: September 30, 2015

In 1998, Compounding Pharmacist, Tony Buchta alongside his
wife Brenda, a registered nurse, opened the doors to their business, Central
Ohio Compounding Pharmacy (COCP). COCP specializes in compounding patient
specific medications to meet the particular needs of patients, as well as
back-ordered or discontinued drugs that are not available at your local
“run-of-the-mill pharmacy”.

“Compounding” is the art and science of creating
personalized medications; COCP takes pride in working with patients and their
physicians to create a custom solution to solve unique problems while providing
the highest quality of care. Buchta said “The underlying tenet is patients
have problems and we need to work together as a team”.

“There are several reasons why doctors seek a customized
drug formulation, there are several ways COCP mixes medicines to accommodate
the patient” said Buchta, whose company employs 22 at its facility in Columbus.

“Children, for example, may refuse to take pills, capsules
or medicines because they taste bad.  Some
of those include masking medicines with palatable flavors to help the medicine
go down; mixing the active ingredient of a medicine into a different form.” Some
of these services include, pain management, specific compounded formulations,
veterinary medication, and hormone supplementation.  Due to being a compounding pharmacy, many
prescriptions can be filled in an array of forms such as capsules, topical
creams, gels, suspensions, tablets, and even lollipops.

When asked about the biggest challenges he faces as a business owner, Buchta is quick to mention the threat of becoming regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA regulates manufactured drugs and medical devices, currently compounding pharmacies are regulated by state boards of pharmacy.

“The FDA is well-suited for regulating manufacturers,” he said. “We think it works best when we’re regulated by the state because their mission is to protect the people of Ohio. It makes sense they continue to oversee compounding.”

 In 2003, these challenges led Buchta to join the NFIB, “It is absolutely crucial to have someone on the frontlines fighting for small businesses, the NFIB’s influence keeps the federal government from interfering with the regulation and operations of privately owned small businesses,” said Buchta. 

The business recently expanded and opened a second location in the center of Columbus in the Arena District. To learn more about the business, visit their website at www.cocprx.com

Related Content: Small Business News | Ohio

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