VetMedics Compounding Pharmacy
Compounding Vet Medications to Meet Each Patient’s Specific Needs

Veterinary medicine has evolved rapidly, resulting in improved diagnoses and treatments for various conditions such as thyroid, liver, and cardiac diseases. However, the availability of approved drug products for all veterinary species and indications is relatively small, creating challenges for veterinarians and pet parents who need to administer drugs. Animals’ increased sensitivity toward flavors and smells further limits the veterinary-specific medications and dosage formulations available in the market.

Compounding can address these challenges, and VetMedics Compounding Pharmacy excels in this field. VetMedics’ team of experienced, specially trained pharmacists and technicians understands pet physiology, animal needs, and pharmacology, formulating medication methods that work best for each animal requiring care. By offering customized dosage forms and flavors that are palatable for animals, VetMedics ensures a stress-free medication regimen for pets and their owners. They tailor the consistency of the original dosage of generic, commercially available medications to suit the specific needs of each pet.

For instance, cats are notorious for refusing to swallow pills, and administering medication can be tricky for dogs, where a therapeutic dose for an 80-pound Golden Retriever could be deadly for a six-pound Yorkie. Large and exotic pets, such as horses, rabbits, birds, ferrets, and reptiles, also pose various medication challenges.

“We formulate medications ranging from tablets and capsules, liquid suspensions, transdermal gels, and otic preparations to chewy treats. We also adjust the color, smell, flavor, texture, and consistency of medication to be more appealing to the pets’ tastes,” says Donald J. Cantalino, a veterinary specialist at VetMedics.

Compounding is also ideal for pets refusing medications because of the taste. While it could be a nightmare trying to feed birds large volumes of liquid medication, they would happily consume a small dose of a tasty, fruity-flavored, concentrated solution.

As a full-service pet pharmacy, VetMedics’ veterinary compounding services complement the work of veterinarians. They work closely with the vet to prepare medicines in easy-to-give, flavored dosage forms that pets of all kinds will happily devour.

“Our job starts when veterinarians call us. They brief us on the pet’s particulars, including species, age, weight, and medical condition. We work together with the veterinarian to come up with the drug, strength, and dosage form that they think will be most palatable to the pet,” says Cantalino.

“We also call the owner, discuss it with them, and proceed only when the owner approves.The veterinary pharmacists in our laboratory compound the medication, process the prescription, and send it out the next day to the owner.”

Uniquely committed to addressing the challenges faced by pet owners and vets while administering medication, VetMedics offers seamless try-and-error options to get the flavors to work for the animals and extends their services until finding the right personalized formula for each pet. They have a vast database of more than 7,000 formulas clinically tested by veterinarians and veterinary pharmacists that can be tailored to the unique needs of each animal.

Being a reliable and trusted compounding pharmacy choice for veterinarians and pet owners across the US, everyone on the VetMedics team is dedicated to ensuring that pets are treated with care, compassion, and respect. From working with exotic animals to horses to everything in between, VetMedics has built a reputation for treating household pets, rescue animals, and zoo animals with the kindness and customized medication they deserve.

In one instance, VetMedics helped a cat parent who couldn’t afford chemotherapy to treat her pet’s cancer with a cream they compounded. “I did my research and found an article by a veterinarian online about a specific cream for squamous cell carcinoma that could be applied topically as an alternative to chemotherapy. Using the cream, the cat was healed completely, and the pet owner wrote an emotional letter thanking us,” says Cantalino.

Bringing more than a decade of experience as a leader in the compounding space, VetMedics established itself as the Brooks Brothers of compounding. With a commitment to the quality of medications and the safety of animals, VetMedics compounds sterile preparations in its state-of-the-art ISO class-5 sterile suite.
“Pharmacists receive compounding training while in pharmacy school, but this training is not veterinary-specific. Veterinary compounding mandates pharmacists with great knowledge to properly verify prescriptions that are received at their practice site while keeping with the most up-to-date guidelines related to animal and human health. Our team takes online courses in addition to extensive and participatory training by visiting zoos, farms, rescues, and shelters to gain a higher level of expertise in veterinary medicine and stay ahead of the curve,” explains Cantalino.

Having seen first-hand the healthcare supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic, VetMedics has grown as a leading pet pharmacy in the US. It has removed the void caused by vet drug shortages by compounding individualized dosage forms superior to the discontinued formulations from pharmaceutical-grade ingredients. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology to prepare specialized medicine using various chemicals and equipment available and making medication administration easier for both the parent and pet, VetMedics is expecting exponential growth by 2030.