I see on another thread Nancy wrote that the drugs from out of the country might not be as good quality as drugs purchased here from our vets.
Has anyone had experience with their dog getting heartworm while on these out of country drugs? How about heartworm contracted while on preventive bought here? I'd be interested to see if there is more heartworm amoung users of these "off brands."
I can't answer your question directly, but I have been told by reps of the drug companies that they will not stand behind any of their meds bought online, they must come through the vet for them to cover medical costs for failures, etc.
But that sounds a bit like a kick back to me. I'm sure the drug reps are the first to get left out in the chain of mark ups (and the vet is at the end of that chain) So they *might* be using this as an incentive for vets to buy their product--or maybe not--they might just want to know that a dog was not carrying heartworm when he started the meds. That they were in fact used the correct way.
I was told by Novartis that the reason for this is that they have no control over how these online (out of the country) products are stored, for how long, and at what temp.
I've used generic ivermectin bought from overseas for over 5 years now, and we live in an area where only part year protection is needed. No problems with HW (all annually checks clear!) and no problems with other types of worms either.
I hear the liquid livestock ivermectin is even more cost effective and gives full protection as well.
You have been very lucky if you haven't had problems with grey market drugs. I work in the pharmaceutical industry and know first hand that those products may be very good counterfeits (remember the Colgate counterfeits from china with the toxic ingredients). Even if they are not counterfeits you can never be sure if the product was stored properly and the drug is still stable, safe and effective. My guys are worth too much to me to risk it. Liver and kidney damage could be the least of your problems.
