Key takeaways
Compounding prepares a medicine for an individual patient to a prescription. It is not a route to mass-market unapproved peptides. TGA rules on compounding have changed — check current guidance.
What compounding is
Compounding is the preparation of a medicine tailored to an individual patient, on the basis of a prescription, where a suitable commercial product isn’t available.
What it isn’t
Compounding is not a mechanism to manufacture and sell unapproved products to the general public. That distinction is where many “clinics” run into trouble.
Recent changes
The TGA has periodically tightened the rules around compounded products, including certain peptides. Current guidance should always be checked.
How to verify this: this page summarises publicly available Australian regulatory information. Confirm the current rules with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (tga.gov.au) and discuss any decision with a registered Australian health practitioner before acting on it.