From what I heard from a couple pain specialists i

From what I heard from a couple pain specialists in the last few weeks, compounding is becoming more popular for a couple reasons. First, there is less concern for addiction to topical agents vs the traditional pill or capsule. Secondly, topical agents are less abusive and have zero street value, a big concern for physicians. Ask the physicians who are currently in jail serving sentences for running pill mills. Thirdly, the topical agents act directly at the site of the pain and as such are not metabolized via the liver which is a concern for patients taking multiple medications and related drug to drug interactions. I attended a pain round table discussion a few weeks ago and when the moderator ask the audience what steps they are taking to limit their use of opioids, one physician answered he is utilizing compounding as an alternative. Compounding is becoming more popular amongst all prescribers. Plastic surgeons like to use topical creams (non-narcotics) to limit scarring after surgery. I am sure after compounding expands to other uses the demand will continue to increase. The only downside to compounding is that managed care will eventually take a stronger look at controlling the costs and reimbursements. But this happens across the entire pharma market as well. Even in the midst of cost controlling efforts, companies profits increase. The demand however will continue to increase and the profits will be there for companies like SCRC who have developed a reputation for providing a quality and reliable product in an efficient manner.