Tailor Made Compounding Review: Comprehensive Supplier Intelligence Report
Pioneer 503A compounding pharmacy that introduced peptide therapeutics to US market, operating NABP-accredited facility with in-house HPLC testing capabilities. Founded as peptide innovation leader with significant regulatory friction including FDA warning letters and criminal charges necessitating operational vigilance despite quality infrastructure improvements.
1. Executive Intelligence Brief
This Tailor Made Compounding review for 2025 provides comprehensive intelligence assessment of this supplier, rated 81/100. Tailor Made Compounding operates as one of the nation's largest 503A compounding pharmacies specializing in peptide therapeutics, positioned as a market pioneer that introduced novel peptide compounds to the United States compounding sector. Based in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with a 20,000+ square foot pharmaceutical-grade facility, Tailor Made maintains NABP accreditation, LegitScript certification, and state pharmacy licenses in 46 states enabling nationwide prescription fulfillment.
This supplier occupies a strategic position at the intersection of pharmaceutical legitimacy and peptide innovation. Founded in 2015 by individuals with biochemistry backgrounds and peptide research experience, Tailor Made pioneered the introduction of compounds including CJC-1295, BPC-157, Epitalon, PT-141, and other research peptides into the US compounding pharmacy framework, transforming previously research-only compounds into prescription-accessible therapeutics.
The tactical advantage is peptide specialization and innovation leadership. Unlike conventional compounding pharmacies that added peptides to existing formularies, Tailor Made built its business model specifically around peptide synthesis and formulation, developing expertise in peptide sourcing, compounding protocols, and therapeutic applications that positioned the company as a category leader. The pharmacy claims to have sourced and compounded over 40 unique peptides, establishing comprehensive peptide catalogs and clinical protocols when competitors offered limited options.
The tactical constraint is significant regulatory friction with documented compliance failures. FDA issued a warning letter in April 2020 following 2018 inspections citing violations related to compounding BPC-157, Epitalon, CJC-1295, and other peptides that failed to meet Section 503A conditions. More seriously, the company and its principals pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal criminal charges for unlawful distribution of unapproved drugs including BPC-157, CJC-1295, DSIP, and Epitalon during the period from October 2018 through April 2020, resulting in significant fines and probationary oversight.
Recent intelligence indicates operational maturation and compliance enhancement efforts. The company expanded into a new 20,000+ square foot facility that became fully operational in 2024, implemented enhanced quality systems, maintains in-house HPLC testing capabilities for potency and purity verification, and continues NABP accreditation despite regulatory challenges. However, the pattern of serious violations including criminal prosecution establishes elevated risk profiles requiring ongoing monitoring.
Our assessment assigns Tailor Made Compounding an 81/100 rating (Good) with Tier 2 classification. The scoring reflects substantial peptide expertise, pharmaceutical-grade infrastructure, legitimate regulatory status with prescription-based operations, and quality testing capabilities, offset by documented serious FDA violations, criminal prosecution history, and regulatory compliance concerns that prevent higher tier classification. For researchers operating through licensed practitioners and accepting elevated regulatory risk profiles, Tailor Made offers specialized peptide expertise and innovation-focused approaches distinguishing it from conventional compounding pharmacies.
Critical Intelligence Points
- Regulatory Status: Licensed 503A compounding pharmacy with state licenses in 46 states; NABP accredited and LegitScript certified
- Regulatory History: FDA warning letter (April 2020) and federal criminal guilty plea (2021) for unlawful distribution of unapproved peptide drugs during 2018-2020 period
- Quality Infrastructure: In-house HPLC testing for potency/purity, third-party sterility testing (USP 71/85), real-time environmental monitoring exceeding USP guidelines
- Innovation Position: First US compounding pharmacy to offer CJC-1295, BPC-157, Epitalon, PT-141; pioneered peptide therapeutics in compounding sector
- Facility Scale: 20,000+ square foot purpose-built facility completed 2024; ISO-classified cleanrooms with pharmaceutical-grade infrastructure
- Peptide Expertise: Over 40 unique peptides sourced and compounded; specialized knowledge in peptide synthesis, formulation, and therapeutic protocols
- Access Model: Prescription-only fulfillment requiring licensed healthcare provider relationships; no direct consumer sales outside prescription framework
2. Operational Profile & Business Intelligence
Corporate Structure & Founding History
Tailor Made Compounding was founded in 2015 by Ryan Smith, Jeremy Delk, and Nima Alavi with the explicit mission of introducing peptide therapeutics to the US compounding pharmacy market. Founder Ryan Smith brought biochemistry background from Transylvania University and briefly attended University of Kentucky Medical School before leaving in 2013 to pursue compounding pharmacy entrepreneurship focused on peptide synthesis and formulations.
The founding team's peptide focus proved strategically prescient, positioning Tailor Made ahead of broader industry trends toward peptide therapeutics. The company established relationships with Australian peptide suppliers and compounding pharmacies that had pioneered peptide therapies internationally, transferring knowledge and sourcing expertise to establish US operations before domestic competitors recognized the market opportunity.
Business growth proved exceptional during initial years. Tailor Made placed 21st on Inc. Magazine's 2019 list of 5,000 fastest-growing companies with 8,327% growth rate and $10.2 million in revenues. The company added over 85 employees during this expansion phase, though subsequent regulatory enforcement and legal challenges significantly impacted operations and leadership.
Ryan Smith exited Tailor Made in 2020 to create TruDiagnostic, a methylation array-based diagnostics company focusing on life extension and preventive healthcare. Current ownership and management structure information remains limited in public channels, though operations continue under Tailor Made Compounding LLC corporate entity registered in Kentucky.
Facility Infrastructure & Manufacturing Capabilities
Tailor Made operates from a purpose-built pharmaceutical-grade facility at 200 Moore Drive, Nicholasville, Kentucky. The company expanded into a new 20,000+ square foot facility that became fully operational in late 2024, representing significant infrastructure investment in pharmaceutical-grade compounding capabilities including ISO-classified cleanrooms, specialized air handling systems, and comprehensive environmental monitoring.
Manufacturing capabilities span both sterile and non-sterile compounding operations. Sterile compounding occurs in ISO-classified cleanroom environments meeting USP 797 standards with ISO 5 primary engineering controls within ISO 7 buffer areas. Real-time environmental monitoring of all ISO-classified sterile compounding rooms exceeds USP guideline minimums, with documented internal environmental monitoring programs tracking viable and non-viable particulates, temperature, humidity, and differential pressure.
In-house analytical testing capabilities include HPLC equipment for potency and purity verification, enabling batch-specific testing without complete third-party laboratory dependency. This internal testing capacity provides rapid turnaround for quality verification and supports research and development activities for novel formulations. Third-party laboratories perform sterility testing (USP 71) and endotoxin testing (USP 85) for sterile products, maintaining independent verification of critical quality attributes.
Operational Scale & Market Position
Tailor Made positions itself among the nation's largest peptide-focused 503A compounding pharmacies, though specific patient volume and prescription counts remain undisclosed in public channels. State licensing in 46 states enables nationwide prescription fulfillment, with shipping infrastructure supporting temperature-controlled distribution of peptide products requiring refrigeration.
The company targets functional medicine providers, age management specialists, hormone optimization clinics, and preventive health practitioners who integrate peptide therapeutics into patient protocols. Institutional partnerships with medical practices provide recurring prescription volume, while direct patient fulfillment serves individuals with provider prescriptions.
Market positioning emphasizes innovation leadership and peptide expertise rather than scale dominance. Unlike larger competitors competing on comprehensive formularies and operational scale, Tailor Made differentiates through specialized peptide knowledge, early market entry, and willingness to compound novel peptides that conventional pharmacies avoided due to regulatory uncertainty or limited demand.
Business Model & Revenue Streams
Tailor Made operates exclusively through prescription-based fulfillment, requiring valid prescriptions from licensed healthcare providers for all compounded medications. The prescription requirement ensures regulatory compliance with 503A pharmacy regulations while restricting access to researchers without provider relationships or outside therapeutic contexts.
Revenue streams derive from individual patient prescription fulfillment and practitioner partnerships where medical practices prescribe Tailor Made formulations for patient treatment protocols. Pricing structures reflect pharmaceutical-grade production costs, specialized peptide expertise, quality testing expenses, and regulatory compliance overhead, typically positioning above research chemical suppliers but below brand pharmaceutical pricing.
The company has navigated significant revenue challenges following regulatory enforcement. The 2020 FDA warning letter and 2021 criminal prosecution disrupted operations and required business model adjustments, particularly regarding peptides that FDA determined could not be compounded under Section 503A regulations. Subsequent peptide regulatory changes in 2023-2024 further impacted product availability, requiring ongoing catalog adjustments as regulatory pathways evolve.
3. Quality Control & Manufacturing Standards
Testing Protocols & Analytical Verification
Tailor Made implements pharmaceutical-standard testing protocols combining in-house analytical capabilities with third-party verification. The in-house HPLC testing infrastructure enables potency and purity verification for each batch of peptide products, with testing available on request according to product literature. Historical product catalogs indicated purity specifications including ">98% (HPLC on request)" for BPC-157 and ">99% (HPLC on request)" for CJC-1295, though current testing protocols and documentation accessibility may vary.
Third-party testing relationships with reputable independent laboratories provide sterility testing for all compounded sterile batches per USP 71 standards and bacterial endotoxin testing per USP 85 (LAL assay). This dual-laboratory approach combining in-house and third-party testing provides quality verification layers while maintaining testing turnaround efficiency.
Certificate of Analysis (COA) availability for patients and prescribers supports quality transparency, though specific documentation practices and accessibility protocols remain undisclosed in public channels. Pharmaceutical industry norms typically provide COAs to institutional customers while retail patients receive standard labeling, suggesting similar stratification may apply at Tailor Made.
Quality Management Systems
NABP (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy) accreditation confirms implementation of comprehensive quality management systems meeting pharmacy compounding industry standards. NABP Compounding Pharmacy Accreditation requires third-party inspection, documented compliance with facility design standards, equipment qualification, personnel training, quality control procedures, process validation, and ongoing quality monitoring protocols.
LegitScript certification provides additional third-party verification of regulatory compliance and quality standards. This industry-recognized certification confirms pharmacy operations meet applicable laws, regulations, and quality standards, with ongoing monitoring ensuring continued compliance maintenance.
Weekly training sessions for sterile and non-sterile compounding technicians maintain personnel competency, with weekly personnel assessments including glove finger-tip testing verifying aseptic technique maintenance. This frequent assessment schedule exceeds typical industry minimums, suggesting commitment to personnel quality assurance.
Sterility Assurance & Contamination Control
USP 797 compliance for sterile compounding establishes environmental classification requirements, personnel training protocols, cleaning and disinfection procedures, environmental monitoring, and beyond-use date assignments. Tailor Made's ISO-classified cleanrooms employ specialized air handling with HEPA filtration, differential pressure maintenance, and continuous environmental monitoring.
Real-time monitoring of environmental conditions in all ISO-classified sterile compounding rooms provides continuous verification of environmental control maintenance. The company claims internal environmental monitoring programs exceed USP guideline requirements, suggesting enhanced monitoring frequency or parameters beyond regulatory minimums.
However, FDA inspection history reveals contamination control concerns during the 2018 inspection period, though specific violation details regarding environmental monitoring or sterility failures were not extensively documented in public warning letter content focused primarily on regulatory status of compounded substances rather than manufacturing deficiencies.
Raw Material Sourcing & Supply Chain
Tailor Made sources peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients from suppliers meeting pharmaceutical quality standards, though specific supplier identities and qualification protocols remain proprietary. The company's founding narrative emphasizes relationships with Australian peptide suppliers and manufacturers that pioneered therapeutic peptide applications internationally, suggesting established supply chain relationships predating most US competitors.
Raw material testing includes identity confirmation, purity verification, and supplier certificate of analysis review before release for production use. Component qualification processes ensure materials meet pharmaceutical standards and comply with USP monograph requirements where applicable.
Supply chain complexity increased significantly following FDA regulatory changes affecting peptide compounding legality. The 2023 FDA updates to the 503A Category 2 Bulk Drug Substance list removed several peptides, requiring Tailor Made to adjust sourcing strategies and focus on peptides with USP monographs, FDA-approved status, or Category 1 listing (substances like NAD+ and sermorelin that remain compoundable under current regulations).
4. Product Catalog & Peptide Availability
Historical Peptide Leadership
Tailor Made's historical significance derives from its pioneering role introducing research peptides to the US compounding pharmacy market. The company claims to be the first US compounding pharmacy to offer CJC-1295, BPC-157, Epitalon, PT-141 (Bremelanotide), and other peptides that subsequently became widespread in functional medicine and age management applications.
Historical product catalogs documented over 40 unique peptides spanning growth hormone secretagogues (CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Sermorelin), tissue repair peptides (BPC-157, TB-500), anti-aging compounds (Epitalon, GHK-Cu), cognitive enhancers (Dihexa, Semax), metabolic peptides (AOD-9604, 5-Amino-1MQ), and various specialized formulations. This comprehensive catalog positioned Tailor Made as the peptide pharmacy of choice for practitioners exploring cutting-edge therapeutic applications.
However, the FDA warning letter and criminal prosecution specifically cited BPC-157, Epitalon, CJC-1295, and DSIP as substances that could not be legally compounded under Section 503A regulations during the 2018-2020 enforcement period. These enforcement actions significantly constrained catalog offerings and required business model adjustments.
Current Peptide Offerings Post-Regulatory Changes
Current peptide availability reflects the constrained regulatory environment following FDA enforcement actions and September 2023 updates to the 503A Bulk Drug Substance lists. Tailor Made now focuses on peptides with established regulatory pathways: FDA-approved substances, USP monograph compounds, or Category 1 bulk substances that FDA permits for compounding.
Available peptides include Sermorelin (growth hormone-releasing hormone with USP monograph), Sermorelin/Glycine combinations promoted as sustainable alternatives to restricted peptides, and other compounds meeting current regulatory criteria. The dramatic catalog contraction from 40+ peptides to a significantly reduced formulary reflects regulatory enforcement impact on business operations.
GLP-1 receptor agonists for metabolic and weight management applications likely constitute significant current product focus, mirroring broader industry trends toward semaglutide and tirzepatide compounding during shortage periods when Section 503A regulations permit compounding of otherwise commercially available medications.
Catalog Limitations & Access Restrictions
The prescription-based model fundamentally limits catalog accessibility to therapeutically justified applications. Researchers seeking peptides for experimental protocols without therapeutic rationale face absolute access barriers unless working through institutional research frameworks with medical oversight and valid prescriptions.
Regulatory restrictions further constrain availability beyond prescription requirements. Peptides classified as biologics (greater than 40 amino acids) cannot be compounded by 503A pharmacies lacking biologics license applications. Peptides without USP monographs, FDA approval, or Category 1 bulk list placement face compounding restrictions that Tailor Made must navigate carefully given previous enforcement history.
Product availability fluctuates based on FDA shortage declarations, regulatory guidance updates, and ongoing legal interpretations of compounding regulations. Researchers depending on specific peptides face potential supply disruptions as regulatory pathways change or enforcement priorities shift.
5. Regulatory Compliance & Legal Status
Licensing & Registration Framework
Tailor Made maintains state pharmacy licenses in 46 states enabling nationwide prescription fulfillment pursuant to state-specific regulations governing mail-order pharmacy operations and compounding practice standards. The multi-jurisdictional licensing demonstrates commitment to legal interstate operations despite compliance complexity across varying state requirements.
NABP accreditation and LegitScript certification provide third-party verification of regulatory compliance and quality standards. These certifications require ongoing compliance maintenance, periodic re-inspection, and documented adherence to pharmacy practice standards, indicating sustained commitment to quality frameworks despite historical violations.
FDA Enforcement History & Criminal Prosecution
Tailor Made's regulatory history includes serious enforcement actions that significantly distinguish it from competitors without criminal prosecution records:
FDA Warning Letter (April 1, 2020): Following August-October 2018 facility inspection, FDA issued a warning letter citing violations related to compounding drug products using substances including BPC-157, Epitalon, and CJC-1295. FDA determined these substances did not meet conditions under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, making the compounded products unapproved new drugs subject to FDA enforcement authority. The warning letter indicated these peptides lacked FDA approval, USP monographs, or applicable bulk drug substance list placement at that time.
Criminal Prosecution (2021): In a highly unusual escalation beyond typical FDA administrative enforcement, the US Department of Justice Eastern District of Kentucky charged Tailor Made Compounding and its owners with unlawful distribution of prescription drugs. The company pleaded guilty to distributing unapproved new drugs including BPC-157, CJC-1295, DSIP, and Epitalon from October 2018 through April 2020. The criminal case resulted in significant fines and probationary oversight, representing one of the most serious enforcement actions against a compounding pharmacy in the peptide sector.
This criminal prosecution history distinguishes Tailor Made from typical FDA warning letter scenarios. While many compounding pharmacies receive warning letters and implement corrective actions, actual criminal charges and guilty pleas remain extremely rare, indicating FDA and DOJ viewed violations as sufficiently serious to warrant criminal enforcement rather than civil administrative actions alone.
Post-Enforcement Compliance & Current Status
Following criminal prosecution and FDA warning letter, Tailor Made implemented significant operational changes including facility expansion, enhanced quality systems, catalog adjustments removing non-compliant peptides, and ongoing regulatory compliance monitoring. The company maintains current NABP accreditation and LegitScript certification, suggesting successful implementation of corrective actions meeting third-party accreditation standards.
However, the criminal prosecution history creates permanent regulatory risk elevation. Companies with criminal enforcement histories face heightened FDA scrutiny in subsequent inspections, reduced tolerance for future violations, and potential escalation pathways if compliance issues recur. This enforcement history background requires Tailor Made to maintain exceptional compliance standards to avoid repeat enforcement actions.
Compliance Outlook & Risk Assessment
The compliance trajectory shows apparent improvement from the 2018-2020 violation period through current operations maintaining accreditation and certification. Facility expansion into purpose-built pharmaceutical-grade infrastructure suggests capital investment supporting compliance objectives. Enhanced quality systems and testing capabilities indicate commitment to pharmaceutical standards.
However, the severity of historical violations including criminal prosecution establishes elevated baseline risk that distinguishes Tailor Made from competitors without enforcement histories. Researchers must weigh current compliance indicators against documented serious violations when assessing regulatory risk profiles and supply chain reliability.
6. Pricing Analysis & Value Assessment
Pricing Structure Overview
Tailor Made's pricing reflects pharmaceutical-grade production costs, specialized peptide expertise, quality testing expenses, and regulatory compliance overhead. Pricing positions above research chemical gray-market suppliers while remaining substantially below brand pharmaceutical costs for comparable therapeutic applications.
Specific pricing information remains limited in public channels, with most patients receiving quotes after prescription submission. This pricing opacity reflects pharmaceutical industry norms where costs depend on insurance status, specific formulations, quantities, and individual patient circumstances rather than transparent posted rates.
Community intelligence from peptide forums and user discussions indicates Tailor Made pricing generates "sticker shock" compared to research chemical suppliers, with users acknowledging premium pricing reflects quality assurance, FDA oversight, pharmaceutical-grade testing, and licensed pharmacy operations. The consensus characterizes pricing as "apples and oranges" compared to black market research suppliers, recognizing fundamentally different value propositions.
Cost Comparison Context
Comparative pricing analysis positions Tailor Made in the pharmaceutical-grade compounding tier rather than research chemical category. Users report paying premiums for assurance of quality testing, regulatory oversight, and pharmaceutical standards versus gray-market alternatives offering lower costs with quality uncertainties.
For therapeutic applications under medical supervision, the pharmaceutical premium provides value through quality assurance, sterility verification, potency accuracy, and regulatory legitimacy. For purely experimental research or exploratory protocols, research chemical suppliers may offer superior cost-value ratios despite quality compromises.
Value Proposition Assessment
Value assessment depends critically on researcher priorities and access framework. For practitioners and patients pursuing peptide therapeutics under medical supervision with prescription access, Tailor Made delivers pharmaceutical-grade quality with specialized peptide expertise at costs below brand medications. The peptide specialization and innovation history provide knowledge advantages over general compounding pharmacies newly entering peptide markets.
For researchers requiring experimental compounds outside therapeutic applications or operating without prescription access, value proposition diminishes significantly. Access restrictions, higher costs, and regulatory-constrained catalogs reduce utility compared to research peptide suppliers despite quality advantages.
7. Ordering Process & Fulfillment Operations
Prescription Requirements & Access Pathways
Tailor Made operates exclusively through prescription fulfillment, requiring valid prescriptions from licensed healthcare providers. The prescription pathway involves provider relationship establishment, medical evaluation, prescription generation, and transmission to Tailor Made via phone (859-887-0013), toll-free (844-TLR-MADE), fax (859-406-1242), or electronic prescription systems.
Patients cannot order directly without provider prescriptions, creating mandatory access barriers inherent to legitimate pharmacy operations. Telemedicine providers and functional medicine practitioners increasingly offer peptide prescription services, expanding access beyond traditional in-person relationships, though medical evaluation and therapeutic justification remain required.
Ordering Experience & Customer Interface
Patient interaction occurs through telephone communication, email support ([email protected]), and direct coordination rather than autonomous e-commerce platforms. The pharmacy website (tailormadecompounding.com) provides information about services, company background, and educational resources but does not function as direct ordering platform.
Operating hours span Monday-Friday during business hours, with customer service support handling prescription questions, order status inquiries, and pharmacist consultations. Response time benchmarks and service quality metrics remain undocumented in public channels, though community feedback generally describes professional interactions.
Fulfillment & Shipping Operations
Standard prescription processing timelines align with pharmacy industry norms, typically within 7-10 business days for compounded prescriptions requiring custom formulation, quality testing, and pharmacist review. Processing times exceed research chemical supplier standards (often 24-48 hours) but reflect pharmaceutical production requirements including compounding, testing verification, and quality oversight.
Nationwide shipping reaches all 46 states where Tailor Made maintains pharmacy licenses, utilizing temperature-controlled packaging for peptide products requiring refrigeration. Tracking information enables delivery monitoring, with discrete pharmaceutical packaging maintaining patient privacy.
8. Community Intelligence & Market Reputation
Research Community Feedback Patterns
Community intelligence regarding Tailor Made presents mixed perspectives reflecting its unique position as peptide pioneer with serious regulatory history. Early adopters and functional medicine communities credit Tailor Made with introducing peptide therapeutics to US markets, recognizing innovation leadership and specialized expertise that enabled therapeutic applications previously unavailable through legitimate pharmacy channels.
Peptide research forums acknowledge Tailor Made as "the top compounding pharmacy in the country when it comes to peptides" during its pre-enforcement peak, with community members appreciating in-house HPLC testing, pharmaceutical oversight, and quality assurance unavailable from research chemical suppliers. Users valued working with licensed pharmacists possessing peptide-specific knowledge rather than general pharmacy staff lacking specialized expertise.
However, criminal prosecution and FDA enforcement actions damaged community confidence and raised questions about regulatory compliance and business practices. The guilty plea to unlawful drug distribution charges created reputational challenges that persist despite operational improvements and continued accreditation maintenance.
Practitioner & Institutional Perspectives
Functional medicine and age management practitioner communities maintain relationships with Tailor Made based on specialized peptide knowledge and established protocols for therapeutic applications. Practitioners value pharmacy staff with expertise in peptide dosing, administration, therapeutic applications, and patient education rather than conventional pharmacies lacking peptide-specific capabilities.
However, some practitioners express concern regarding regulatory history and potential future enforcement risks affecting supply reliability. Medical professionals maintaining pharmaceutical quality standards may hesitate partnering with pharmacies carrying criminal prosecution backgrounds despite current compliance indicators.
Industry Reputation & Competitive Position
Within the compounding pharmacy industry, Tailor Made occupies a specialized niche as peptide innovation leader with both recognition for pioneering contributions and caution regarding enforcement history. The company's first-to-market positioning with novel peptides established expertise and market presence that competitors subsequently entered as peptide therapeutics gained mainstream adoption.
Competitive differentiation derives from specialized knowledge, innovation history, and peptide-focused business model rather than scale dominance or comprehensive formulary breadth. As larger competitors like Empower Pharmacy expanded peptide offerings, Tailor Made's competitive advantages increasingly depend on specialized expertise, established practitioner relationships, and innovation positioning rather than exclusive catalog access.
9. Risk Assessment & Red Flag Analysis
Regulatory & Legal Risks
Critical Risk: Criminal Prosecution History. The 2021 guilty plea to federal charges for unlawful distribution of unapproved drugs represents the most serious risk factor distinguishing Tailor Made from competitors. Criminal enforcement backgrounds create permanent regulatory risk elevation, heightened FDA scrutiny, and reduced tolerance for future violations.
High Risk: FDA Warning Letter and Enforcement Pattern. The April 2020 FDA warning letter citing violations related to peptide compounding demonstrates regulatory non-compliance during inspection periods. While corrective actions appear implemented, enforcement history establishes baseline risk requiring ongoing monitoring.
Moderate Risk: Regulatory Environment Volatility. Ongoing FDA regulatory changes affecting peptide compounding legality create business model risks and product availability uncertainties. Catalog contraction from 40+ peptides to regulatory-compliant subset demonstrates vulnerability to regulatory shifts.
Quality & Safety Risks
Moderate Risk: Limited Public Quality Documentation. While in-house HPLC testing and third-party sterility testing represent quality infrastructure, public accessibility to testing protocols, COA documentation practices, and quality metrics remains limited compared to competitors with extensive published quality data.
Low Risk: Current Quality System Implementation. NABP accreditation and LegitScript certification provide third-party verification of quality management system implementation meeting industry standards. New facility investment and enhanced infrastructure suggest quality commitment, though ongoing verification through inspection results and performance data remains important.
Operational & Business Risks
Moderate Risk: Founder Departure and Ownership Transition. Ryan Smith's 2020 exit to pursue TruDiagnostic leaves current ownership and management structure unclear in public channels. Leadership continuity and organizational stability merit monitoring as they affect long-term operations and quality culture maintenance.
Low Risk: Market Saturation and Competitive Pressures. As peptide compounding becomes mainstream with large competitors entering markets, Tailor Made's first-mover advantages diminish. Sustained competitive positioning requires continued innovation and expertise differentiation.
Red Flag Summary
Critical red flags requiring awareness:
- Federal criminal prosecution with guilty plea for unlawful drug distribution (2021)
- FDA warning letter citing violations related to peptide compounding (April 2020)
- Enforcement actions specifically targeting BPC-157, Epitalon, CJC-1295 products
- Founder departure in 2020 amid enforcement actions
- Dramatic catalog contraction reflecting regulatory compliance constraints
These red flags establish elevated risk profiles but do not necessarily indicate current products are unsafe or operations are non-compliant. Current NABP accreditation and LegitScript certification suggest successful corrective action implementation and ongoing compliance maintenance. However, historical violations require researchers to carefully assess regulatory risk tolerance when making procurement decisions.
10. Tactical Recommendation & Strategic Assessment
Overall Rating Justification: 81/100 (Good)
Our 81/100 rating reflects Tailor Made Compounding's substantial peptide expertise, pharmaceutical-grade infrastructure, and innovation leadership balanced against serious regulatory enforcement history and criminal prosecution background. This score assigns Tailor Made to Tier 2 supplier status with "Good" performance classification.
Scoring Rationale:
- Quality & Testing (30/40 points): In-house HPLC testing, third-party sterility/endotoxin verification, pharmaceutical-grade infrastructure, and NABP accreditation. Deduction of 10 points reflects FDA warning letter history, criminal prosecution background, and limited public quality documentation accessibility.
- Manufacturing & Compliance (21/30 points): Purpose-built 20,000+ sq ft facility, ISO-classified cleanrooms, USP 797 compliance, and enhanced environmental monitoring. Deduction of 9 points reflects serious FDA violations, criminal enforcement, and elevated regulatory risk profile requiring ongoing compliance vigilance.
- Business Practices (16/20 points): Specialized peptide expertise, innovation leadership, nationwide licensing (46 states), and professional pharmacy operations. Deduction of 4 points reflects regulatory history impact on reputation, catalog constraints, and founder departure amid enforcement actions.
- Operations (14/10 points): Bonus points awarded for pioneering peptide introduction to US market, specialized knowledge exceeding typical compounding pharmacies, and innovation-focused approach establishing category leadership despite operational scale limitations compared to largest competitors.
Ideal Use Cases & Target Researchers
Tailor Made Compounding represents an appropriate choice for specific researcher profiles accepting elevated regulatory risk for specialized peptide expertise:
Peptide Therapeutics Under Medical Supervision: Practitioners and patients pursuing peptide therapies through prescription pathways benefit from Tailor Made's specialized knowledge, pharmaceutical-grade quality, and peptide-focused protocols that general compounding pharmacies may lack.
Innovation-Focused Applications: Researchers interested in cutting-edge peptide applications and willing to work within regulatory constraints may value Tailor Made's historical innovation leadership and specialized formulation expertise, particularly for compounds where the pharmacy pioneered therapeutic protocols.
Unsuitable Applications & Alternative Recommendations
Risk-Averse Institutional Research: Institutions requiring suppliers with clean regulatory histories and no criminal enforcement backgrounds should consider alternatives like Empower Pharmacy or other Tier 1 suppliers without serious violation records.
Experimental Research Outside Therapeutic Contexts: Researchers pursuing purely experimental protocols without therapeutic justification face prescription access barriers making gray-market research suppliers more suitable despite quality compromises.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
Researchers choosing Tailor Made should implement risk mitigation approaches:
- Regulatory Status Monitoring: Track FDA enforcement actions, inspection findings, and accreditation status through FDA databases and industry channels to detect compliance trajectory changes.
- Batch Documentation Verification: Request and review certificates of analysis for specific batches, verifying HPLC testing completion, sterility verification, and potency confirmation.
- Product Availability Contingency Planning: Maintain awareness of alternative suppliers for critical peptides given regulatory volatility and potential catalog changes affecting availability.
Final Tactical Assessment
Tailor Made Compounding delivers good value within the pharmaceutical-grade peptide procurement category for researchers accepting elevated regulatory risk profiles in exchange for specialized expertise and innovation focus. The 81/100 Good rating and Tier 2 classification reflects solid pharmaceutical operations with significant regulatory history concerns preventing higher tier placement.
The company pioneered peptide therapeutics in US compounding markets, established specialized knowledge exceeding typical pharmacies, and maintains pharmaceutical-grade infrastructure with quality testing capabilities. However, serious FDA violations including criminal prosecution create legitimate concerns requiring careful risk assessment and ongoing compliance monitoring.
Tactical recommendation: Approved for Tier 2 classification with enhanced regulatory monitoring advisories. Tailor Made represents a viable option for peptide therapeutics under medical supervision when specialized expertise proves valuable and researchers accept regulatory history trade-offs. Current NABP accreditation and LegitScript certification suggest successful corrective action implementation, though enforcement background necessitates ongoing vigilance.
For peptide applications requiring specialized formulation knowledge and innovation-focused approaches, Tailor Made offers expertise advantages over general compounding pharmacies. For researchers prioritizing maximum regulatory assurance and minimal enforcement history risk, Tier 1 suppliers with cleaner compliance records provide safer alternatives despite potentially less specialized peptide expertise.