Comment from Pennridge Animal Hospital
AnonymousSupportBusiness
Summary: A veterinary hospital is requesting that pimobendan be added to the list of bulk drug substances for compounding office stock. They argue that compounded tablets are necessary to ensure a reliable supply of medication due to commercial production issues and are better suited for small breed dogs.
Comment in reference to GFI #256 guidance. Having compounded pimobendan tablets stocked in our hospital for office use is critical for our standard of care for patients a variety of reasons. The biggest reason is supply chain issues associated with the commercial Vetmedin option due to the company's limited production availability from having only one manufacturing plant located in an area that is prone to natural disasters. We switched from carrying Vetmedin in our hospital a few years ago when there was no way to get B.I.'s product as it was backordered for an extended time due to their inability to meet demand at all when their single plant was effected by natural disaster and COVID issues. We don't trust that this will not be an issue moving forward and compounded tablets are therefore the only alternative to making sure our cardiac patients don't go without a vital part of their treatment. The ability to prescribe pimobendan immediately for a patient when they are in the hospital is critical for a lot of cardiac cases and we don't have the luxury of waiting days for the client to have it shipped to them. Another great benefit of Wedgewood's tiny tablet versions of pimobendan is the size as most of the patients on this medication are toy to small breed canines and the Vetmedin tablets are much bigger and more difficult for the clients to remain compliant with daily treatment. Please reconsider allowing office stock of compounded pimobendan to help us provide the best quality of care we can for our patients.