In January, I posted about the Novartis plant shutdown in Lincoln, NE. I haven’t seen anything new come across the wire about this and had assumed everything was back to normal. When I was unable to buy Interceptor (made by Novartis) today due to shortage of product, I began looking around. The Interceptor website doesn’t have any information. This Novartis press release, dated February 2, seems to indicate production has resumed at the Lincoln plant – until you read more closely. It’s a rather deceptive media release basically stating the company has resumed shipping old products they found in the back closet. Production has not been resumed. (See the weird disclaimer at the end.)
I eventually called Novartis and a recording told me to visit a website called PetWellness.com. From there I was led to this FAQ page which gives information about the shortage and addresses the funky press release from February 2. The bottom line: The plant is still shut down and there is no estimated date when it will be operating again.
In re-reading the comments at my original post, reader Charlotte shared a link for where she buys Interceptor (Thank you!). I went ahead and checked and they do have product so I ordered a package. Now I’m sitting here with a case of buyer’s remorse, wondering if I should have ordered a product from a company that seems less than forthcoming. On the other hand, outside of Novartis, I know of no company that makes any product containing just the (non-ivermectin) heartworm and intestinal parasite drugs – which is all I want.
I wonder what is going on at that Novartis plant.
Becareful when buying heartworm prevention from Austria, I know of an own who purchased hers from them and then had her dog tested some time later and found he had heartworms. Their doses don’t seem to be the same as ours.
1) You can check the dosage amount on the box
2) Heart worm preventives only kill the larval stages of the heart worm.
There are some instances that over a long period of time (about 2 years) of being on a preventative will kill the adults that live in the heart, but this isn’t recommended because the adults are still in there, clogging up the heart and lungs, and damaging hem.
Also, from the time your dog is infected with the larva to the time you can actually diagnose your dog with heart worm is 6-7 months. This is why they say you should treat year round.
I buy Iverhart Plus which contains Ivermectin and pyrantel “treats and controls” ascarid and hookworm. Manufactured by Virbac HC, inc in Ft Worth Tx. http://www.iverhart.com
I am in the same boat, although I went on a panicked hunt for Interceptor a couple of months ago and scored quite a bit locally. I agree that it is a bit disconcerting to have to buy from a company that cannot seem to figure out what it’s doing. But I also wonder why there are no other non-Ivermectin alternatives available. Thanks for the update.
Iverhart Max treats heartworm, roundworm, hookworms, and tapeworms.
My vet says that novartis is only going to manufacture now outside of the country,so she will no longer carry interceptor, only iverhart max. Have not given it to my dogs yet as I still have some interceptor left.
Back in February they stated to the press that it would be mid year before the plant was operational again: http://tinyurl.com/87d3jf5 The plant citations are here: http://tinyurl.com/8x8tgtc
Yr being monitored. :) http://www.cafepharma.com/companies/info/Novartis
A vet told me that all of their plants are shut down and they will not be manufacturing for some time. No more Deramaxx either.
Pets Megastore in Australia carries a product called Canimax. Active ingredients are: Abamectin, Praziquantel and Oxibendazole. Says the product is safe for Collies. I have not used that product, but I have ordered other things from this site and been happy with them:
http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/canimax-c-165_160_184.html
Will be interested to hear followups. I give Heartguard to our dogs, and didn’t know there was a non-Ivermectin alternative. Will be checking out Canimax. If they are not making their products available in the US even though they still will mfg outside of the US, they must have violated some US (FDA?) rules, or perhaps they just find it cheaper to operate outside of the US with all its restrictive policies. More jobs going overseas, just great.
Advantage Multi .topical. No ivermectin. Htw, hooks, rounds , fleas, whips
When you order heartworm or other “prescription” things online, does it piss your vet off when they call to verify the drugs, or is it just mine?
Two seperate vets have given me a hard time about ordering things ‘behind his back’.
I hope Novartis gets back to work soon & does sell their products in the US. It’s too big of a market to ignore.
I used to go to a vet who charged a fee if you requested a prescription as opposed to buying meds directly from them. I think it was $50. I assume the idea was that, unless you were saving more than $50 by purchasing the meds elsewhere, you may as well just buy it from them. In my case, I did neither and simply changed vets.
Its ridiculous to charge a fee for a prescription, it doesn’t take much work to write it out. And if you don’t want to write it out, have your tech call it in to the pharmacy–same amount of time it would take to fill an rx in the clinic. (vet tech here)
Because buying online hurts the clinic and keeps owners for bringing their dogs in, which hurts the practice as potentially the pets because things aren’t being caught early on normal exams, and correct client education can’t occur. That is why it pisses them off. Because not only do they have to deal with less money to pay for things in the clinic that can help animals, they may have to deal with a grumpy owner when they bring their dog in on death’s door because they either used the wrong product or the animal is having a bad reaction. In the case of Heartworms, you don’t want to kill the adults off all at one time, that can potentially kill the dog. That’s why most places require you to test before they give you anything for preventatives.
HELP! I need Deramaxx 75mg desparately !!!!!!!!!!!!!! does anyone know where I can get some??????
To yesbisquit. – – after I’M left your web page earlier this evening, I did find a web page that announced that the Novartis plant in question has reopened…..info dated 7/19/12. Production is on a limited basis & will probably continue on a limited basis for the remainder of the year. 800-637-9281 is contact # for Novartis Animal Health. They are already closed for today, so I’ll try tomorrow to see when & what products may be shipped soon. Personally I’m looking for 75mg Deramaxx.
I just called that number (800-637-9281) and it says “that call cannot be completed as dialed”. I double checked and called again, and it still didn’t work.
Sorry……not used to typing on tablet. The correct # is 800-637-0281 Novartis Animal Health U.S.
Re the plant in Lincoln, it must be doing at least some manufacturing in the dog product line. My vet here in NE PA received a shipment of Deramaxx just last week (12/31/12). In its’ absence, I contacted NorthWest Pharmacy in Ontario, Canada & they accepted my vets Rx for 75mg Deramaxx w/no problem. The meds I received are working just fine and appear to be the same as what I had obtained here in the states.