University of the Pacific Recognizes ScriptWorks' Matt Brensel, PharmD, as a Rising Star in Pharmacy Compounding
At ScriptWorks, we’re grateful to see the University of the Pacific recognize our very own Matt Brensel, PharmD, as a rising star in pharmacy compounding. Matt is vice president and a compounding pharmacist at ScriptWorks in Walnut Creek, California, where his role spans formulation research, patient-specific prescriptions, veterinary pharmacy, pharmacy operations, and professional education.
What makes his work especially interesting is its range. On any given day, Matt may be researching a new formulation question, considering the requirements of a prescription for a human patient, exploring the different considerations involved in a veterinary prescription, or working with the pharmacy team to refine internal processes.
That continual research is an important part of how Matt approaches compounding: not as a one-size-fits-all process, but as a field that requires curiosity, collaboration, and continued learning.
Research Is a Major Part of Matt's Work as a Compounding Pharmacist
There’s no single description of what Matt’s work looks like from one day to the next.
"I have a bit of a unique role in the pharmacy, as my days can vary from day to day, ranging from researching new formulas to developing new marketing strategies for the business,"
That reference to researching new formulas gets to the heart of an important part of his role.
Exploring Innovation Through Formulation Research
For Matt, innovation in compounding begins with research.
That can mean studying active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, available compounds, dosage forms, formulation references, and other technical considerations that may be relevant when a prescriber is evaluating prescription options for an individual patient.
Because patient needs can vary, Matt continually expands his knowledge of ingredients and formulation approaches used in compounding. He reviews available literature and formulation resources, explores developments within the profession, and considers how different ingredients and dosage forms may fit within a patient-specific prescription.
The goal is not simply to prepare a formula. Matt approaches the compounding pharmacist’s role as a knowledgeable and collaborative resource for prescribers and veterinarians.
When a prescription presents a unique formulation question, Matt can research available options and share information about ingredients, formulation characteristics, dosage-form possibilities, and other compounding considerations. That information may give a prescriber additional context as they determine which prescription formula is appropriate to consider based on their patient’s individual needs.
The prescribing decision remains with the prescriber. Matt’s role is to contribute formulation knowledge, research, and compounding experience to that discussion and help providers better understand the options that may be available when commercially manufactured products do not align with the requirements of a particular prescription.
Recognized for Innovation in Compounding
This approach to innovation — researching ingredients and compounds, asking new formulation questions, collaborating with providers, and sharing knowledge with other pharmacy professionals — has also earned Matt recognition within the compounding profession.
At the 2025 PCCA International Conference, Matt received the George Roentsch New Innovator Award, recognizing his contributions in areas including innovation, collaboration, and leadership in pharmaceutical compounding.
The award reflects the same philosophy Matt brings to his work at ScriptWorks: continued learning can create opportunities for better-informed conversations between pharmacists, prescribers, and veterinarians. Each new formulation question adds to that collective knowledge and gives Matt another opportunity to research, collaborate, and share what he learns with professionals making patient-specific prescription decisions.
For Matt, that ongoing exchange of knowledge is an important part of what innovation in compounding looks like — for human patients as well as animals whose prescription and formulation needs may differ considerably by species, size, dosage form, and other individual considerations.
Veterinary Compounding and Professional Education
Veterinary compounding brings a different set of considerations. Species can vary significantly in size, physiology, dosing needs, and how they receive medication.
Matt explained that these differences make continued learning especially important in veterinary pharmacy. The same formulation considerations do not necessarily apply across species.
Beyond his work inside the pharmacy, Matt shares what he has learned with other pharmacy professionals. In 2024, he represented ScriptWorks at the PCCA Veterinary Symposium in Oklahoma City, where his lecture covered veterinary compounding, clinical cases, relationships with veterinarians, and business development.
Pharmacy Operations and Innovation
His work inside the pharmacy also includes improving how ScriptWorks operates. The PCCA highlighted systems Matt implemented to improve workflow, accuracy, patient care, and regulatory compliance.
That range of experience reflects a career shaped by both pharmacy and entrepreneurship.
A Family Legacy, Shaped by Entrepreneurship
Pharmacy was part of Matt’s life long before graduation. As a third-generation pharmacist, he grew up with a family connection to the profession while finding his own direction within it.
Matt’s path into pharmacy is also part of a three-generation family story.
His grandfather, Ernie Brensel, owned Fairmount and Plaza Pharmacy in El Cerrito, California, where Matt’s father, Bob Brensel, RPh, began working at just nine years old. Bob has recalled starting out as a “soda jerk” before eventually becoming a pharmacist and working alongside his father, where he developed a lasting interest in pharmacy compounding.
Bob earned his pharmacy degree from the University of the Pacific in 1980 and later became the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of the family pharmacies. After opening Solano Avenue Pharmacy in 1997, he went on to found ScriptWorks in 2003, creating a pharmacy dedicated specifically to compounding and patient-specific prescriptions.
Over the years, Bob has remained deeply involved in the compounding profession through education, professional organizations, pharmacy quality initiatives, and collaboration with other pharmacists, physicians, and veterinarians.
He has lectured at pharmacy schools, contributed to pharmacy publications, served in professional leadership roles, and shared his compounding experience with healthcare professionals in California and beyond.
Building His Own Perspective on Compounding
That environment gave Matt an early view of compounding as more than the preparation of a prescription. He saw firsthand how pharmacists could research formulation questions, collaborate with prescribers and veterinarians, share technical knowledge, and continue learning as new patient-specific needs arose.
Matt followed that family tradition by earning his PharmD from the University of the Pacific in 2019, but he has also developed his own perspective on where compounding can go next.
He has credited Pacific’s Entrepreneurial Pharmacy Practice Program with helping shape that outlook. The program encouraged him to think beyond traditional pharmacy practice and consider how research, business, technology, education, and new ideas could contribute to the future of the profession.
Today, Matt brings those influences together at ScriptWorks. Bob’s decades of compounding experience provide a foundation, while Matt continues to explore new ingredients, formulation approaches, operational systems, and ways to share compounding knowledge with prescribers and veterinarians.
That combination of family experience and a forward-looking approach to pharmacy helps explain why innovation has become such an important part of Matt’s work.
He’s continuing a family tradition in compounding while developing his own role in researching possibilities, collaborating with healthcare professionals, and helping ScriptWorks continue to evolve.
Why This Recognition Means So Much to Us
Recognition is meaningful, but what matters most to us is the work and the people behind it. We’re grateful to the University of the Pacific and PCCA for recognizing Matt, and to the mentors, colleagues, prescribers, veterinarians, and patients who have helped shape the work he does.
At ScriptWorks, we value the curiosity and care Matt brings to formulation, pharmacy operations, education, and collaboration. He keeps learning, asks thoughtful questions, and looks for better ways to support the work happening across our pharmacy.
Congratulations, Matt. We’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, and we’re thankful to have you on the ScriptWorks team.
ScriptWorks Compounding Pharmacy in Walnut Creek, California
From our Walnut Creek compounding pharmacy, ScriptWorks works with patients, prescribers, and veterinarians across California (shipping direct-to-patient) on patient-specific compounded prescriptions. Our pharmacy team can answer questions about prescribed strengths, dosage forms, ingredient combinations, and veterinary formulations.
If you’d like to discuss a prescription or learn more about ScriptWorks, ask a pharmacist or get directions to our Walnut Creek pharmacy to meet with us in person. California prescribers can sign up for our Provider Portal for easy prescription orders, access to recommended formulas for specific conditions, and more resources to streamline patient prescriptions.