Eurovet has launched Comfortan, the first EU-authorised methadone in the UK, available as an injectable solution for use in dogs.
Eurovet says that whilst methadone may seem an unfamiliar analgesic choice for some vets in practice, that is about to change very quickly.
Ruth Vernon Technical Services Manager at Eurovet says that prior to the launch of Comfortan, reports show that usage of methadone to manage pain in animals is much higher than previously thought: "We have become aware that many practices are using methadone routinely for orthopaedic procedures and that several specialists use it in preference to any other analgesic where rapid onset of action and profound analgesia is important. This opioid provides vets with an animal analgesic with very rapid onset of action: exerting an effect in just 10 minutes of intravenous administration and 15 minutes of intramuscular administration. Comfortan is licensed both as an analgesic and as a premed in combination with a neuroleptic drug. As a full opioid agonist, Comfortan results in very effective pain relief, particularly when used for moderate to severe pain. Comfortan provides pain relief for approximately four hours and can be re-dosed to achieve the desired level and duration of pain relief."Ruth is anticipating high demand for Comfortan from launch: "Comfortan enables many more patients to be given methadone immediately to control their acute pain without their vets having to go through lengthy protocols involved in using products off-licence, so we think that more vets are about to become convinced of the benefits. Comfortan is licensed for veterinary use and it offers the convenience of a 10 ml vial with a shelf life of 28 days. Those who have not used methadone before, or indeed anyone with a query about storage or monitoring, can source all the information and advice they need by contacting us at Eurovet Animal Health."
For further information contact Eurovet Animal Health on 01223 257933, e-mail: office@eurovet-ah.co.uk, or visit: http://www.eurovet-ah.co.uk/
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Great. Another drug we've been using for decades, know all the safety details of, and now have to charge several times more for, because someone researched/purchased the answers to questions we all knew the relevant answers to anyway.`
Am I meant to be grateful for this, Vomend, Zitac, etc. etc.?
The positive side of having a licenced version is that hopefully it will encourage vets to think about their analgesia provision a little more and realise there is more to it than just blindly giving a shot of buprenorphine to everything!
Gosh, Katie, do you have any evidence for your statement? Bless you.
The practical effect of having licensed methadone will be, as Tony says, to hugely increase the cost of a useful analgesic for our patients; it will also become more notorious than the 'horse tranquiliser' ketamine amongst people whose interest is less than innocent.
Retrospective licensing is a cashing-in exercise; no more, no less.
What do other people think of the move, for a schedule 2 CD, from individual glass vials to multidose bottles, as far as keeping track of where it all goes?