Regulatory

Following reports of a drug user fee agreement between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and regulated human drug manufacturers, the Animal Health Institute (AHI) and FDA have blueprinted a similar arrangement.

Rockville, Md.- A new Web page for the Food and Drug Administration links to pages devoted to topics of current public interest.

Three issues top newly appointed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner Dr. Lester Crawford's agenda: bioterrorism, "intelligent" staffing and appropriate use of the FDA's whopping $1.6 billion budget.

Rockville, Md.-A recent Food and Drug Administration update warning that prescribing, purchasing, or distributing "compounded" clenbuterol violates federal law, is a first step to reform, indicate several DVMs.

Rockville, Md.-The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Bayer a hearing to determine the fate of enrofloxacin for use in poultry, the first time since the 1980s a hearing of this type has been granted.

Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is amending regulations and standards pertaining to animal exports.

Intervet announces it has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for NeoGard as the first and only vaccine for bovine neosporosis

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. recently launched Torpex aerosol albuterol sulfate, a dose inhaler approved for use in horses suffering from reversible airway obstruction.

Anchorage, Alaska- In a benchmark decision, Alaska Supreme Court justices rule that damages for the untimely loss of a pet can be measured by the cost of replacing it, or more specifically, an animal's actual value.

Horse owners will want to take heed of several new rules on the care of horses destined for slaughter.

Horses with recurrent airway obstruction may no longer have to suffer following Food and Drug Administration approval of a specially designed equine inhaler with medication.

Washington, D.C.-You think you have a few friends? The White House, inundated with letters of support, recently asked groups to stop sending correspondence to President George W. Bush in favor of Dr. Lester M. Crawford leading the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Washington-The U.S. Supreme Court denied without comment Kansas cattleman and order buyer Jerry Goetz's request for appeal in his claim that he should not have to pay the $1-per-head beef checkoff.

Washington-Federal animal health laboratories - the places where strains of anthrax, botulism and plague reside in the U.S. - are in dire need of repair, says a U.S. Department of Agriculture official.

Washington-The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made his case to White House officials. Senator Edward Kennedy appears to have endorsed it. And fellow senators concur.

Lester Crawford, DVM, Ph.D., must be numb to the pins and needles by now. Since July his name has been one of the leading choices for the next FDA commissioner among senior officials; and apparently, his name is one of only two that remains. For whatever reason, however, the White House is not committing to anyone yet.

Washington, D.C. - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must take "prompt, substantial steps" to avert delays in its review of emerging breakthroughs in medical technology, the Lewin Group, a health care policy research firm, advises.

Washington - The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the Michigan Pork Producers Association (MPPA) are asking a federal district judge to determine the constitutionality of the pork checkoff, and to rule on the legality of the settlement agreement between NPPC and the USDA.

Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has instituted new interstate movement, identification, and indemnity requirements for sheep and goats, agreed to by all 50 states.

The Food and Drug Administration has developed an action plan addressing the agency's steps in dealing with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) among other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Washington-The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) applauds the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee for securing $40 million in funds to modernize the National Animal Health Facility in Ames, Iowa.

Shawnee Mission, Kan.- Bayer announces it has received approval from the Center of Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Marquis (15 percent w/w ponazuril) Antiprotozoal Oral Paste for the treatment of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Marquis offers equine veterinarians and their clients the first FDA-approved treatment for EPM, combining safety, efficacy and convenience, the company says.

Washington-If Congress approves it, President George Bush's supplemental appropriations request would call for an additional $35 million for the United States Department of Agriculture to step up preventative measures against foreign animal disease threats.

Washington- Government officials are considering adding a definition for distress to animal welfare regulations and changing the way laboratory animal use is recorded in research, experiments and teaching.

Washington-The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially withdrew the approval of two new animal drug applications sponsored by Abbott Laboratories.

Helena, Mont.-Montana Supreme Court justices have turned down a claim that Colorado State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital (CSU-VTH) should be open to long-arm jurisdiction for an equine malpractice lawsuit because it operated a Web site.

Washington, D.C.-At presstime, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing new animal thresholds for antibiotic approvals, while a new Purdue University pilot program was just launched to monitor antibiotic resistance in companion and food animals.