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Wyeth filed the petition because of potential risks to women's health and possible violations of manufacturing practices, said Candace Steele, Wyeth director of global public relations.

The petition has riled the compounding-pharmacy industry and advocates for compounded bio-identical hormone-replacement therapy – custom-made medications with plant ingredients that mimic human hormones.

"In the worst case scenario - if (Wyeth) got everything they wanted - it would drastically reduce the number of compounding pharmacies and limit what we can do," said Clay Hammett, pharmacist and manager at California Pharmacy & Compounding Center in Newport Beach.

The compounding-pharmacy industry is fighting back by asking patients and doctors who write prescriptions for bio-identical hormones to submit letters and send e-mail urging the FDA to keep the hormones available.

At California Pharmacy, patients can take home a flier that walks them through the process of filing comments urging the FDA to deny Wyeth's requests.

The FDA is expected to review the responses after the April 4 comment deadline.

Compounding pharmacies have been around for decades, but the landmark Women's Health Initiative in 2002 pushed them int...

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