FDA Backs Study on Effectiveness of Compounded Pain Creams

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning a study on the safety and effectiveness of compounded topical pain creams. The FDA last week announced an agreement with the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine, or NASEM, to look at available evidence regarding the pain creams, which typically contain multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients. Often at least one of the ingredients is also found in an FDA-approved topical pain cream, such as lidocaine, the agency said. However, the remaining ingredients may be active in drugs approved by FDA for non-topical administrati...