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Want to use a VFD medication in a combination? Check first with your vet

Some medications for swine requiring a veterinary feed directive (VFD) are indicated for use alone while others are approved for use in combination with over-the-counter (OTC) medications that don’t require a VFD.¹

For example, chlortetracycline, which will transition to a VFD medication on January 1, 2017, has several indications for use alone but it’s also approved for use with tiamulin, an OTC medication, for diseases including swine dysentery, bacterial enteritis and bacterial pneumonia.²

Even if a VFD medication is approved for use with an OTC product, it’s up to the veterinarian issuing the VFD whether or not the combination can be used. The authorization will be provided on the VFD form as follows:

This VFD authorizes the use of the VFD drug(s) cited in this order in the following FDA-approved, conditionally approved, or indexed combination(s) in medicated feed that contains the VFD drug(s) as a component. [The specific approved combination medicated feeds must then be listed.]

If the veterinarian wants the VFD medication to be used alone, he or she will make this clear on the VFD form:

This VFD only authorizes the use of the VFD drug(s) cited in this order and is not intended to authorize the use of such drug(s) in combination with any other animal drugs.

Then there’s a hybrid scenario, where a veterinarian might authorize use of a VFD medication in any approved combination that contains the VFD medication. This gives producers the option of using the VFD medication either alone or in any approved combination with the OTC products in the medicated feed. In such cases, the statement on the VFD will read:

This VFD authorizes the use of the VFD drug(s) cited in this order in any FDA-approved, conditionally approved, or indexed combination(s) in medicated feed that contains the VFD drug(s) as a component.

For more information, click here.

1. #120 Guidance for Industry Small Entity Compliance Guide Veterinary Feed Directive Regulation Questions and Answers http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/UCM052660.pdf Accessed January 5, 2016

2. FDA. Swine. Marketing Status. http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/Products/AnimalFoodFeeds/MedicatedFeed/BlueBirdLabels/ucm081802.htm Accessed April 7, 2016.