Compounded Drug Eyed in Thoroughbred Deaths

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether a compounded medication might have played a role in the deaths of two Thoroughbred horses and sickening several others, an agency representative said.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether a compounded medication might have played a role in the deaths of two Thoroughbred horses and sickening several others, said Cariny Nunez, a representative from the administration's Miami office.

Robert MacKay, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of Large Animal Medicine at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement that eight Thoroughbreds received a single dose of a compounded toltrazuril/pyrimethamine drug, from the Wickliffe Veterinary Pharmacy, in Lexington, Kentucky, to treat equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). The horses, which resided at a training stable in Ocala, Florida, began exhibiting neurologic disturbances within 36 hours of administration, he said.

Wickliffe Pharmacy said it adheres to the highest safety, quality, and validation standards and knows of no correlation between its compound and the reported adverse events. The company said it will work to determine the cause of the adverse events

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Frank Angst is a staff writer for The Blood-Horse magazine. An American Horse Publications three-time winner in best news story category, Angst has covered horse racing for more than a decade. Angst spent ten years at Thoroughbred Times, where he earned awards as that magazine’s senior writer and helped launch Thoroughbred Times TODAY. Besides covering horse racing, Angst enjoys handicapping. Angst has written about sports for more than 20 years, including several seasons covering a nationally ranked Marshall Thundering Herd football team.

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