Comment
Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Compounding medications for third parties (including veterinarians) to resell to different patientsIt's also important to realize that FDA-approved drugs should be used instead of compounded preparations in pets unless the approved drug is not available or the approved drug cannot or should not be used for some medical or safety reason. For example, in April 2012, the FDA issued reminders to veterinarians and pharmacists regarding the compounding of pergolide, a drug that controls problems associated with equine Cushing's disease. The letters were issued to help prevent illegal compounding and use of pergolide products that are identical to the FDA-approved, commercially-available product. FDA issued similar letters for seven veterinary drugs including: pergolide (Prascend), trilostane (Vetoryl), phenylbutazone (Butazolidin), deslorelin (Sucromate), domperidone (Equidone), estriol (Incurin), and phenylpropanolamine (Proin).As an additional example, there is an FDA-approved product in paste form for treating stomach ulcers in horses. Any compounding pharmacy that manufactures what they call "generic Gastrogard" in a paste form is making an illegal product because they are purposefully duplicating an already-approved product. Gastrogard® contains omeprazole (also found in human products such as Prilosec®) and was proven effective in clinical studies. In one study compounded omeprazole was found to be ineffective when compared with the FDA-approved version (for a write-up about the study, view the article on TheHorse.com). While it might appear to be less expensive to buy a compounded copy of an approved drug, in the long run it presents a risk to your pet's health and can cost more correcting problems caused by an illegal copy of an approved drug.Q: Can I use a compounded form of an approved medication because it's cheaper?A: If you use a compounded medication only because it's cheaper, you could be putting your animal's health at risk by preferentially using a drug that hasn't been shown to be safe and effective. A 2006 FDA study showed that there are wide variations in effectiveness of compounded medications. There are times when compounding may be necessary, but it isn't necessary when there's an FDA-approved drug that can adequately treat your animal's condition. As previously mentioned, you really do not save money by buying a manufactured mimic; if the compound fails to do what the approved drug does, you might end up spending more money in the long run to treat your animal correctly.Q: Are there different compounding rules/regulations applied to use in food-producing animals?A: Yes, and those rules are
Add Comment