[BoyleHeightsKid]

I know it's considered off label if used for horses, but darnit Equiox is just too damned expensive!

[Hpilot]

I can't get it either! My vet won't prescribe it, but the other vet service in town will. But I would have to change vets in order to get it. There's a lot of things I like about my vet and have been using them for over 20 years. I could use the other vet for one horse, I suppose.

[Gainer]

I can get it through my vet, but only if they dispense it. I can't get a script to get it (cheaper) online. Even with vet's markup, it's cheaper (about 1/3 the price) than Equioxx.

[LauraKY]

My vet won't prescribe it...equine only practice.

[hunterjumper21]

I just moved my horse and am using a new vet. Needed (or thought I did) some Equioxx and was stunned when my vet said he could give me Previcoxx instead. He also owns a small animal practice. It was a nice surprise from what I thought I was going to be paying.

[Fharoah]

I guess I am lucky in Canada my vets will happily give me it whenever I want.

[Gainer]

Blame the FDA...that's why a lot of the vets in the US won't prescribe it for horses. Since it's off-label use for horses, a vet can get into trouble prescribing for horses. It's such BS!

[BoyleHeightsKid]

Blame the FDA...that's why a lot of the vets in the US won't prescribe it for horses. Since it's off-label use for horses, a vet can get into trouble prescribing for horses. It's such BS!

Yep I agree! I would love to know why in the heck Equiox is so much more expensive. Just because it's in a paste?? Really?? Oh I know, it's because horse owners have so much money to throw around.

[davistina67]

Blame the FDA...that's why a lot of the vets in the US won't prescribe it for horses. Since it's off-label use for horses, a vet can get into trouble prescribing for horses. It's such BS!

It isn't because it is off label. that isn't the issue. The reason it is illegal for vets to write previcox is because there is already an FDA approved drug for the same treatment with the same drug.

[Laurierace]

My lab is apparently still creaky up there in heaven because she has continued to fill her script for three years now!

[ActNatural]

My lab is apparently still creaky up there in heaven because she has continued to fill her script for three years now!

My boxer has the same issue.

[HenryisBlaisin']

Yep I agree! I would love to know why in the heck Equiox is so much more expensive. Just because it's in a paste?? Really?? Oh I know, it's because horse owners have so much money to throw around.

To the drug companies, dog owner=average Joe. Horse owner=wealthy and often a bleeding-heart female willing to do anything to have a sound animal. They know the FDA has vets' hands tied, so they can charge whatever they want, knowing that there are always plenty of horse owners who WILL fork out the $$$ and to hell with those who can't afford it.

[future vet]

Equioxx is more expensive because it is FDA approved specifically for horses. The approval process is incredibly costly and time-consuming (it also ensures production of safe and effective drugs), hence Merial charges more for the product because it cost them so much $$$ to get it approved.

I'm not discounting the possibility that the perception that horse owners have lots of $ may factor into the price, but there are reasons other than greed that factor into drug prices.

Powerpoint on the approval process:

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalV...PAGNW5mUBnsQxA

[HenryisBlaisin']

Equioxx is more expensive because it is FDA approved specifically for horses. The approval process is incredibly costly and time-consuming (it also ensures production of safe and effective drugs), hence Merial charges more for the product because it cost them so much $$$ to get it approved.

I'm not discounting the possibility that the perception that horse owners have lots of $ may factor into the price, but there are reasons other than greed that factor into drug prices.

Powerpoint on the approval process:

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalV...PAGNW5mUBnsQxA

Not disputing that it's time consuming and expensive to get FDA approval for a drug. However, that argument loses some weight with me because...well, didn't Merial have to go through the same process getting Previcoxx FDA approved? (I can't open your link, so can't look for sure.) Yet it costs significant'y less. Also, could they not have had Previcoxx approved for both species? Sure, they would ahve had to do separate clinical trials etc., but the end result could have been that the same drug could have been prescribed, at the same price, for dogs or horses, no? Both of these questions, combined with the huge reported profits for drug companies, make it pretty hard to believe that there money isn't their main motivation.

[FalseImpression]

I guess I am lucky in Canada my vets will happily give me it whenever I want.

Me too, but there are many other drugs you can get cheaper in the US. Some drugs we can't get at all... Equioxx is not approved in Canada!

[BoyleHeightsKid]

Also, could they not have had Previcoxx approved for both species? Sure, they would ahve had to do separate clinical trials etc., but the end result could have been that the same drug could have been prescribed, at the same price, for dogs or horses, no? Both of these questions, combined with the huge reported profits for drug companies, make it pretty hard to believe that there money isn't their main motivation.

^This... I have a hard time believing that it was so much more expensive going through the approval process for horses than for dogs to justify the HUGE price difference. They were like "Hey... we can put this stuff in a tube call it something different and make a killing!"

[Ghazzu]

My lab is apparently still creaky up there in heaven because she has continued to fill her script for three years now!

That's a techincal violation in most states--a valid VCP can't exist outside having examined the patient within a reasonable time frame (usual rule of thumb is a year.)
Unlikely anyone will ever investigate it, though.

[Ghazzu]

Me too, but there are many other drugs you can get cheaper in the US. Some drugs we can't get at all... Equioxx is not approved in Canada!

If Equioxx weren't approved here, we could legally use Previcox.

[Ghazzu]

^This... I have a hard time believing that it was so much more expensive going through the approval process for horses than for dogs to justify the HUGE price difference. They were like "Hey... we can put this stuff in a tube call it something different and make a killing!"

It's not only the approval costs.
Their bean-counters also look at the return on investment and likely profit to be made, and if it isn't sufficiently attractive, it never comes to market.
Unfortunate fact of life.

I still don't understand why they don't seem to believe that dropping prices on things like equioxx and gastrogard would end up making them more profit in increased sales, though.
It seems like a no-brainer to me.

[foggybok]

It's not only the approval costs.
Their bean-counters also look at the return on investment and likely profit to be made, and if it isn't sufficiently attractive, it never comes to market.
Unfortunate fact of life.

I still don't understand why they don't seem to believe that dropping prices on things like equioxx and gastrogard would end up making them more profit in increased sales, though.
It seems like a no-brainer to me.

And you have to consider that the equine market is 1/10 the size of the dog market, so the recover the initial investment, they have to charge more....

And they do the calculations to determine optimal price point. I'm sure they would drop the price if it actually made them more money.