Findings of a global study on paediatric oral extemporaneous preparations and practices, conducted by FIP’s Pediatric Formulations Focus Group have been published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics. This publication is the first to report current and global paediatric oral extemporaneous compounding practices. Complete survey responses were received from 479 participants actively involved in compounding across all the World Health Organization regions. The survey addressed oral formulation of extemporaneous liquids, including the use of commercial or in-house vehicles, flavouring excipients, source of formulation recipes, and beyond use dates. “There is a paucity of commercially available age-appropriate medicines labelled for children. Our study shows that paediatric oral extemporaneous compounding remains a prevalent practice worldwide, with diuretics, drugs for acid-related disorders, and beta-blockers being the top three classes most frequently compounded into oral preparations for children. Of the top 20 active pharmaceutical ingredients compounded, eight featured on the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines for Children,” said lead author and focus group chair Hala Fadda.

The focus group is part of FIP’s Special Interest Group on Drug Delivery and Manufacturing, a main structure within the FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The work is a result of One FIP collaborations with the Board of Pharmaceutical Practice.