An apparatus and method for preparing a pharmaceutical for transient application includes a tray having a sealed compartment, a vial of an ophthalmic formulation of mitomycin-C, a diluent carrier containing sterilized water, and a syringe that are all contained together in a single package. The component parts of the apparatus are used together to reconstitute the contents of the vial with the water in the diluent carrier, and then draw the reconstituted drug into the sealed compartment of the tray by a suction force produced by the syringe. In the tray compartment, the reconstituted drug is absorbed in at least one absorbent pad. The absorbent pads may come in multiple shapes and or/sizes. The tray is opened to remove the pad and the absorbed drug from the tray compartment for use of the pad in transient application of the drug.