Check the pharmacy
Check the pharmacy, too.
Ask for the name of the medicine’s maker and of whoever sends it. Keep those names beside your clinician’s name; this is the doctor or another health professional who treats you.
Follow the names and records
Get a name that can be checked
According to FDA, someone receiving online care may be unaware of the pharmacy or facility that made their medicine. [A]
Ask for the maker’s full name and the name of the pharmacy that sends it. Ask which one can answer questions about the medicine.
Use the state record
A state board of pharmacy keeps the pharmacy licence record; it is a separate body from the medical board. [B]
FDA’s pharmacy lookup directs readers to those state records. [B]
As of September 2026, most states required a permit or licence from the destination state for pharmacies sending medicine across state lines. [C]
An entry confirms a licence. The licence alone does not show that this medicine is allowed under the ingredient rules or that it was made correctly.
Ask what was checked in the batch
A batch is a set made together. A certificate of analysis is a paper reporting tests on a sample.
In the review checked in September 2026, FDA examined BPC-157 test papers for the free-base form, which has no added salt. Most reported the amount of BPC-157 in a sample but omitted results for unwanted substances. [F]
An impurity is an unwanted substance in a medicine. Purity tells you the share of a sample accounted for by the named ingredient.
For injections, that review named tests for germs, poisons from bacteria and stray particles as key checks.
A high purity figure alone does not show that the medicine is free of germs or poisons from bacteria.
Keep approval separate from paperwork
Registration does not establish approval
As of September 2026, FDA registration did not mean approval of a facility or its products. [D]
The National Drug Code (NDC) was a code for a product listing as of September 2026, without indicating FDA approval. [E]
Ask the pharmacist to name the rule that allows this exact ingredient and explain how the medicine meets it. Ask for the written rule so you can check the answer with your state pharmacy board.
Keep the limits of each check in view
A licence check, a batch paper and the ingredient rules answer different questions. Keep each answer, with the name of the person who gave it.
If the service will not say who made or sent the medicine, there is no useful name to check. Pause the comparison until that question is answered.
Page notes
[A] FDA on identifying the actual compounder
[B] Open the state pharmacy licence lookup
[C] FDA’s pharmacy guidance on state licences
[D] FDA explains the limits of registration