Olive Tree Pharmacy

Imagine that a pill you needed from your regular pharmacy contained an ingredient to which you were allergic. What if your child, or even the family cat, needed a medication, but all available commercial formulations of it proved too strong to take safely?

Compounding pharmacies, like Olive Tree Compounding Pharmacy in Rio Rancho, exist to fill in these gaps in pharmaceutical care, devising customized solutions for the unique requirements of both people and pet patients.

Olive Tree, which owner and pharmacist Ndidiamaka “Didi” Okpareke opened in 2017, has established itself as a necessity in the community. The minority- and woman-owned business is the only compounding pharmacy in the city and has outgrown its 1,500-square-feet on Westside Boulevard. To provide more comprehensive services, Didi took out a multi-million- dollar loan to expand into a 6,000-square-foot location nearby. However, the pandemic delayed construction, creating financial hardship as money was nevertheless owed on the loan.

Seeking a resolution, Didi turned to Stephanie Skaggs, business advisor at the Minority Business Development Agency Business Center (MBDA) in Albuquerque. Stephanie helped Didi analyze her financial condition and secure refinancing with a local bank. She also provided general counseling via a series of one-on-one business advising sessions – all at no charge.

“Stephanie was definitely a vital piece of the puzzle,” Didi said. “She was very instrumental in being encouraging and looking comprehensively at Olive Tree’s financial health from all angles rather than just focusing on the loan challenge.”

The MBDC support not only saved Didi money but also prevented her from losing even more precious time on her ambitious growth trajectory for the small, in-demand business.

A compounding pharmacy can be a life-saver for people and animals who can’t take certain medications offered on the market. It differs from a traditional commercial pharmacy in that it creates medications from raw ingredients tailored to fit the individual patient’s needs. This allows dosages to be adjusted in very small ratios or for flavoring to be added. It also enables the patient to avoid common allergens found in many medications, such as yellow and orange dyes and gluten. 

“There’s no one-size fits all,” Didi said. “If you have special health concerns, that’s when you come to a compounding pharmacy. We make things that are not readily available elsewhere.”

Olive Tree Compounding Pharmacy can fill prescriptions using topical creams, gels, suppositories, lollipops, suspensions, and more for ailments within a spectrum of health concerns. These include hormone therapy, pain, pediatrics, dermatology, veterinary health, dental, and sports medicine.

Though a timeline for Olive Tree’s new space remains unclear, Didi’s intent is to use about 60 percent of it for a larger pharmacy; testing services, such as for important hormone levels, cortisol, vitamin D, etc.; her retail skin care line, olivetree.skin; and other products and services. The remaining 40 percent will be rented to tenants until Olive Tree grows into it.

Didi also said that within the next year, she plans to double her staff, which consists of 3 full time and 3 part time employees, and four minorities, herself among them. Her well-paying salaries are comparable to the current compounding pharmacy market, which depend on the job and the person’s experience.

“Right now, we’re just a non-sterile compounding pharmacy,” she said. “I don’t want it to be just place for medication but a comprehensive wellness center, and this new facility will give us more space to be able to do that. This is just the start.”