Beginning May 4, equine practitioners were able to order Fort Dodge Animal Health’s corticosteroid anti-inflammatory medication Vetalog (triamcinolone acetate) again, after all forms of the product had been unavailable for about two years. The product is commonly used intra-articularly (as a joint injection) in combination with hyaluronic acid in horses with joint problems.

Craig Wallace, Director Companion Animal, Fort Dodge Animal Health, explained, “Vetalog is a product produced by a third party. Several years ago, the manufacturing plant that produced Vetalog was closed. (The Horse has been unable to verify why that decision was made.) At that time, we were forced to discontinue the sale of Vetalog because of product unavailability. In order to bring the product back to market, FDAH worked with its supplier and U.S. regulatory authorities to resume production, which was resumed by another manufacturing facility earlier this year.” (The Horse has been unable to determine the current manufacturer.) 

Nick Tooth, inventory manager at HDM Pharmacy in Lexington, Ky., said, “Although Vetalog was off the market, there was a substitute on the human side” that Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates veterinarians use on equine patients (the product is not sold in the pharmacy directly to clients). Veterinarians were able to switch to the human form of the drug called Kenalog by merely adjusting the strength of the dose. Kenalog is available at a 10mg/mL-strength, whereas Vetalog is given to horses at 6mg/mL. Tooth began stocking Vetalog when product became available again.

A recent article in The Horse reported that Vetalog has a moderate duration of effectiveness when used for intra-articular joint injections and is used in high-motion joints at low dosages. “Work at the CSU Orthopaedic Research Laboratory showed no negative effects and an increase in the synthesis of essential articular cartilage elements),” the article stated. “Triamcinolone acetate might be chondroprotective (protective of the cartilage)