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The MAHA movement is breaking into the pharma world — or it’s trying to at least. 

Last week, the CEO of Olympia and Wesley Pharmaceuticals, two compounding pharmacies based in Florida,  joined the board of the Make America Healthy Again PAC. 

Mark Mikhael joined the compounding pharmacy world in the late 90s, immediately after graduating pharmacy school. Throughout his career, he has worked on elevating compounding pharmacies and served on the Florida Board of Pharmacy to advance literature around sterile compounding. 

An avid believer in personalized therapies and the power of compounding pharmacies, Mikhael said it’s been a lifelong mission to increase awareness of the power of compounding pharmacies. 

He touched on a number of instances where there have been drug ingredient shortages across the country, and compounding pharmacies worked to fill patient needs during the shortage of IV bags and chemotherapy medications like cisplatin. 

He is also passionate about alternative therapies, which is in line with the Make America Healthy Again Movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I love the ability to be part of the MAHA PAC as a think tank, and really to buck or move away from traditional or what people have considered traditional medicine to realize that there are other opportunities out there to increase patient access,” said Mikhael, adding he sees alternative pathways for longevity, health and wellness.

“Pharma obviously has its place, but there are other solutions that are out there that can serve equal benefit to the patients,” said Mikhael. “I know that there’s a lot of people within the administration who have been very vocal about alternatives that they use for Big Pharma.”

He said that being part of the board of the movement will allow him to work with folks who steer solutions in the healthcare space. 

“One thing that I love about this administration is that they’re looking for solutions. The most common thing that we hear is, as America, we are the world’s richest country, however, we are also the world’s sickest country. What we have been doing is consistently not working to make people healthier,” said Mikhael. 

The area that Mikhael said he’s most passionate about advancing is the compounding of peptides. 

The use of peptides in “anti-aging” and for performance enhancement has gained in popularity over the past few years. Compounders, however, are prohibited under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 

“There’s a whole class of holistic alternatives and peptides, whether it’s BPC 157, and there’s a whole list of them that you can find that have not been able to be compounded. And I think that’s going to be part of the focus is really looking at some of these things that are not pharma or Big Pharma, that it’s out there.” said Mikhael. 

While Mikhael is focused on advancing access to therapies, the MAHA movement has also come under fire for touting a slower vaccine schedule. Despite some of this controversy, Mikhael maintained linking compounding pharmacies to the MAHA.  

“The only goal that I have as part of the MAHA PAC is to bring a level of reasonable rationale to the thought process. The patient should always be in the driver’s seat of their care,” said Mikhael. “If you want to have vaccines, that should be an option. If you don’t, and that’s your belief, then the patient really should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to their health outcomes.”

While tensions between compounding pharmacies and big pharma still exist — largely due to IP issues — Mikhael maintained that he plans to work with the industry, rather than alienating it. 

“I have a lot of friends in the pharma industry at various levels of leadership and executive leadership, and they’re always a great partner,” he said, concluding that ultimately, “We’ve got to put profits and dollars behind the patient.”