[Skip to the chapter](#reading) Colorado / care notes Compounding chapter · Look past the label # Made to order does not mean approved For a compounded medicine, preparation to order is the work of a pharmacist, doctor or registered facility. Ask why that preparation is being discussed for your particular need. The legal statements below reflect September 26, 2026. ## There can be a patient need FDA The Food and Drug Administration is the US agency for reviewing medicines. Compounding can help when a patient needs a medicine without a particular dye or cannot swallow the available tablet. On September 26, 2026, compounded preparations remain without FDA approval. Before marketing, these medicines undergo no FDA checks of safety, quality or how well they work. Poor preparation can leave germs in the medicine or the wrong amount of the substance that makes it work. ## The state law still depends on federal rules Federal A rule for the United States as a whole, alongside state rules. As of September 26, 2026, Colorado law allows certain licensed pharmacies and facilities to supply compounded medicines. They must follow both state and federal law. Federal rules may forbid an ingredient or limit making copies of a ready-made drug. Colorado law does not lift those limits. Ask how this exact preparation meets the rules. A claim that Colorado allows peptides does not answer that question. Source information checked: September 26, 2026. ### What the Colorado act says Read the condition about following both levels of law before relying on a headline. [Read Colorado’s compounding act](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/116592/download) ## There are limits on making copies Shortage list The FDA’s national record of drugs in short supply. Federal law, as of September 26, 2026, sets limits on regularly preparing made-to-order medicines that closely copy an available ready-made drug. The prescriber may judge that a change to the ready-made medicine makes a meaningful difference for a particular patient. The change must matter compared with the ready-made drug. Lower cost alone does not count as that difference. Neither semaglutide nor tirzepatide injections appeared on the FDA shortage list when checked September 26, 2026. A pharmacy with no stock in your area is a different situation from an FDA-recorded nationwide shortage. Using retatrutide or cagrilintide to compound medicine is forbidden by federal law, says the FDA in its September 26, 2026 position. Ask it this way What change in the medicine do I need, and how would it help me? Which rules allow it to be made for me? Source information checked: September 26, 2026. ### Use the FDA’s explanation Read the agency’s account of approved drugs, compounding and the end of national shortages. [FDA questions on compounding](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers) [FDA explanation of shortage-related policies](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize) ## Ask which rules apply after the October hearing As of September 26, 2026, Colorado had announced an October 1, 2026 hearing on compounding-rule changes. This guide cannot confirm what the board decided at that hearing or when any new rule took effect. Ask the Board of Pharmacy for the rules in force when your care is being arranged. Source information checked: September 26, 2026. ### Ask the state board [Colorado Board of Pharmacy](https://dpo.colorado.gov/Pharmacy) [Return to the introduction](/) [Next: Count the full cost](/cost-chapter/) A little clarity for your next care conversation: these pages offer guidance; we neither operate a clinic nor sell any medicines. [Official source guide](/source-guide/) [Read this chapter as text](/compounding-chapter/index.md)