“Antimicrobial stewardship has been a priority for Elanco for more than a decade. We have led industry transformation in this space and have made tangible progress to drive the responsible use of antibiotics. At the same time, we’ve focused on finding new solutions and alternatives to solve our most pressing healthcare concerns around antibiotic resistance.” Dr. S. Simjee, Elanco Chief Medical Officer
As part of this commitment to providing innovative solutions for treating BRD while maintaining our commitment to adhering to our principles of antimicrobial stewardship. Elanco continues to invest in innovation to pursue the discovery and development of products that improve the health and care of animals, including products that would reduce the need for medically important antibiotics.
Most of the approved solutions for BRD belong to classes of antimicrobials that are considered medically important. These classes include fluoroquinolones, macrolides and cephalosporins. This fact only makes it imperative that we follow disciplined guidance for stewardship and judicious use of our available and future resources.
Some key principles that Elanco embraces are:
- Disease treatment: Support the administration of an antibiotic to an individual or a group of animals showing clinical signs of an infectious disease.
- Disease control: Support the administration of antibiotics for disease metaphylaxis/ control in animals identified by a veterinarian.
- Utilization of risk assessment: Following a risk assessment process, where regulations allow, support the use of non-medically important antimicrobials for performance indications.
- Concomitant use: Two medically important antibiotics of different classes should not be used concomitantly for the same disease indication (unless approved by the regulatory agency or supported by scientific evidence and/or veterinarian experience).
- Recording of antibiotic therapy: Antibiotic usage in farm animals should be recorded and kept by the veterinarian and/or the farmer.
We are in an environment where well proven solutions have a perception of performing less consistently than expected. Considerations for an integrated approach that addresses the principles of antimicrobial stewardship should include adequate nutrition throughout the calf’s life, vaccination, stress reduction and informed antimicrobial choice through surveillance and health records.
Elanco brings to market an innovative treatment solution in Pradalex (pradofloxacin injection) that contains the first new active ingredient commercially approved in over a decade. Pradofloxacin, the active ingredient in Pradalex, is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. While similar to other available fluoroquinolone products, it is different in that it targets two enzymes within the same bacteria with the same affinity.
Pradalex, when used according to the label and after consideration of other non-fluoroquinolones therapeutic options, can be integrated into an overall approach to BRD management to improve outcomes.
Like all fluoroquinolone, macrolide and cephalosporin antimicrobials approved for the treatment of BRD, Pradalex can be categorized as medically important. As a consequence, before a veterinarian prescribes this or other BRD solutions they should consider all options to determine the best solution for animals under their care.
For more on Antibiotic Stewardship and Responsible Use, contact your local cattle nutritionist, veterinarian, Elanco Animal Health consultant, Elanco CMO- Shabbir Simjee (shabbir.simjee@elancoah.com), or extension representative.
For more information on Pradalex, please visit pradalexforcattle.com for more information.
About the Author
Dr. Ronald Tessman is a Beef Cattle Technical Consultant for Elanco Animal Health based out of Kansas City, Missouri, supporting feedyard producers. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University and a doctorate degree in veterinary pathobiology from the University of Missouri.
He has more than 17 years of experience and his career has included roles at Bayer Animal Health and Merial where he oversaw clinical efficacy studies crucial for the development of animal health products for farm animals. He also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.
Today, Dr. Tessman's role at Elanco Animal Health allows him to apply his wealth of knowledge and experience to the betterment of beef cattle production, supporting feedyard producers in Kansas City and beyond. His dedication to research, education and the development of animal health solutions continues to drive innovation and progress in the beef industry.
*Clinical relevance unknown
(1) Elanco Data on File.
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