ELDU of human drugs is acceptable in non-food-producing animals when the animal’s health is threatened, even when an animal drug exists, for economic reasons. Note, however, that minor differences in the human product’s formulation may produce alterations in the pharmacokinetics and biological availability in the animal species compared to humans. Also keep in mind that consistent use of human-labeled drugs when approved animal-labeled drugs are available could create relative disincentives for animal health industry to pursue new animal drug approvals and could ultimately further limit the availability of veterinary drugs.
