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Is Your Dog On Drugs?
St. Petersburg, FL
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Natural and Holistic Cures
Is Your Dog On Drugs?
Questionable Drug Safety Leads Vets to the Alternatives
Questionable Drug Safety Leads Vets to the Alternatives
St. Petersburg, FL – 11/03/2009) With an ever-increasing population of older pets in the United States and abroad, the demand for pharmaceuticals to treat our aging (and ailing) canine companions is at an all time high. However, with this significant growth in demand, there are numerous concerns in the veterinary community over the safety of these synthetically derived products being given to our pets.
As with any business, revenue is the top dog focus in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The costs of development, regulatory compliance, manufacturing, and distribution is nearly unparalleled as compared to other industries. In the current economic state and increased competition, veterinary drug companies are cutting costs wherever possible in order to remain competitive and still meet market demand. These cuts come with a big price tag; product safety. The following are the four (4) most noted recent factors that are compromising the safety of veterinary pharmaceuticals:
1. Accelerated Drug Development
With the push to get veterinary pharmaceuticals developed and on the market before competitors or to placate impatient investors, veterinary drug developers often cut the time and funds required for thorough drug development. Hence, side effects such as potential liver damage that often occurs with long-term use of these drugs is not "caught" prior to product launch. An example of this is Carprofen (Rimadyl), which is used to treat hip dysplasia, shoulder dysplasia, arthritis, and other joint-related problems.
2. Decreased Food and Drug Association (FDA) Oversight FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is usually responsible and associated with regulatory oversight for veterinary drugs. However, this department within the agency is very small, resource-limited, and has little priority as compared to other groups within FDA. Not only does this limited the ability of new animal drugs to get reviewed, thoroughly assessed, and through the regulatory affairs process, but veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer audits and compliance activities are exceedingly rare. Veterinary drug manufacturers and marketing knows this and often stretch compliance with the laws and regulations knowing that there is almost no chance of getting caught for being non-compliant
3. Outsourcing
With the current state of the economy, many veterinary drug developers, manufacturers, and marketers have decided to outsource manufacturing to save costs with labor costs being the key factor. There are risks associated with outsourcing in the United States (e.g. contamination from other products made at the contract site, contract manufacturer adherence to current good manufacturing practices, etc.). However, the main risk is offshore outsourcing. Vendor audits are required by the 'owner' of the veterinary drug, however, owners rarely perform a site audit or mandate the foreign facility comply with audit findings. Couple this with the fact that FDA has a historic inability to uniformly enforce compliance within the United States let alone foreign establishment inspections, and the safety picture for veterinary drugs becomes exceedingly clear.
The manufacturing sector as a whole has taken one (1) of the biggest unemployment hits. This stands especially true for veterinary product manufacturers. In order to successfully run a compliant and quality-focused veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, 15% of total company employees are expected to be within the 'quality unit'. However, typically, the first resources to go are those in the 'Quality Control' (QC) groups as rarely is QC considered a revenue generating department. Hence, layoffs is another real factor in the safety of veterinary pharmaceutical products.
Veterinary Trends Veterinarians are on the front lines of the battle field with regards to the pharmaceutical products they prescribe. Many pet owners are aware of the taxing effects drugs can have on their pet's liver, urinary tract, digestive organs, and kidneys and are increasingly requesting holistic and natural alternatives from their vets.
As with any business trying to match the needs of its customers, veterinarians have been forced to explore the viability of natural and holistic alternatives. In fact, many veterinarians now call themselves, "integrative veterinarians" calling attention to the fact that they now prescribe both natural and holistic approaches in addition to traditional therapies involving pharmaceutical products. Probably the most commonly prescribed 'alternative medicine' is glucosamine for hip and elblow dysplasia, arthritis, and other joint-related diseases. For example, one (1) of the newest and hottest not-for-profit/information only websites on the internet, http://naturalcuresfordogs.org, is owned and operated by an all volunteer staff of veterinarians. This organization provides unbiased and independent expert reviews of natural and holistic products on the market. The site also provides visitors links to the leading veterinarians in each state that practice alternative and integrative veterinary medicine
Summary
With Rover getting older, just like his owner, he will need drugs to help him through the golden years. However, those drugs he takes everyday are of increasingly questionable safety due to current economic pressures and lack of regulatory oversight. More and more veterinarians are exploring and prescribing holistic and natural remedies for pets to mitigate the growing risk of veterinary drugs
Jonathan Lewis
COOL PET Consulting
St. Petersburg, FL
727-641-6175
