Tue, Nov 30, 2021 page2

• Vets push use of human drugs on animals

  LIMITED CHOICES: The government is considering changing to a label system that identifies human medications as animal-use alternatives to expand treatment options

  • By Chiu Shu-yu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Veterinarians are hoping the government would ease restrictions on the use of human medicine in the treatment of animals to improve treatment options, the Taiwan Veterinary Medical Association said recently.

  There are limited choices on the market for animal-use medications, and in some cases human medicines can be used as substitutes. However, pharmacists have complained to the Council of Agriculture (COA) about veterinarians being able to purchase and prescribe human medicine to treat animals, saying such actions contravene the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法). Some pharmaceutical companies have said they would stop providing human drugs to vets.

  A draft act on the use of human drugs on pets was discussed in 2019, but the bill has yet to be reviewed by lawmakers due to continued opposition by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, pharmacists, the Council of Agriculture and some vets, the association said, adding that many vets already use human drugs in the treatment of pets.

  

  A veterinarian examines a dog at a clinic in Taichung on Nov. 4.

  Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times

  The government has created a temporary list of about 500 human medicines that vets can use until the draft bill is discussed, but that list is still too limited for vets’ needs, veterinarian Lin Tsai-lu (林蔡祿) said.

  Citing an example, Lin said that intravenous immunoglobulin that is often injected into cats to treat tetanus is not on the list.

  Vets need to wait for the association to apply to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine to gain access to the drug, but this is delaying treatment of cats that need the medicine now, he said.

  “There is an intravenous adrenaline medication we use on pets with blood clotting. The ministry now lists it as a controlled drug, so we cannot use it even in an emergency,” association chairman David Tan (譚大倫) said.

  Bureau Deputy Director Hsu Jung-pin (徐榮彬) said the bureau was assessing the feasibility of replacing the existing system of pharmaceutical companies applying for animal-use certification for human-use drugs with a label system that identifies human medications as animal-use alternatives.

  “There are currently only pharmaceutical companies making human drugs applying for animal-use certification,” Hsu said. “The reason is that demand is low and not worth the cost of additional certification for the companies.”

  Hsu said that switching to a label system would mean companies need only be concerned about human dosages, while the COA would handle regulations related to animal use of the drugs.

  However, Hsu said he could not give a date for when current regulations would be changed, as more cross-departmental talks were needed.

  Meanwhile, Tan cautioned pet owners who buy medicine overseas, saying that while it might be acceptable to use the medication at home, buying or selling it in Taiwan is prohibited by law — and vets would be reluctant to use it in their clinics.

  Pet owners can consult a vet first, who can apply to import the medication through proper channels, if no alternatives exist in Taiwan, he said.

  Animal medication manufacturer Juily Pharmaceutical Co executive officer Liao Chin-tao (廖欽陶) said the Taiwanese market for imported animal drugs is very small, and many companies in Taiwan see it as unprofitable to produce or import animal medications.

  “There was a Taiwanese company making a prostate cancer drug for animals, but it sold so few that it just stopped making it,” he said.

  Importing drugs from the US is also risky, as the US Food and Drug Administration could potentially recall a drug, which would mean vets would not use the batches of that drug that were imported, and the importer would therefore incur a cost.

  “Animal drug manufacturers in the US tend to focus efforts on vaccine research and production, since diseases for which there is a vaccine typically do not need treatment later,” he said.

  “Taiwanese drug makers also want to follow this path, and hope to bring their vaccines to the global market,” he said.
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