According to Dr. Gaskin’s records, a bottle of 100 mg doxycycline tablets increased in price from $3.27 for 100 in August 2012 to $48.27 for 50 in October 2014. A 1,000-count bottle of 5 mg prednisone tablets increased in price from $10.58 in December 2011 to $102.34 in November 2014. A 1,000-count bottle of 64.8 mg phenobarbital tablets increased in price from $11.97 in August 2010 to $253.28 in October 2014.
Dr. Gaskin sometimes substitutes minocycline for doxycycline, but many dogs can’t stomach minocycline. He continues to use prednisone to treat atopy and inflammatory bowel disease in dogs and has found that the bigger pill sizes also have jumped in price. He now writes prescriptions for phenobarbital so clients know he is not making big bucks off the drug and so they can scout out the cheapest source.
With the limited number of drugs available specifically for animals, Dr. Gaskin said, “I would estimate 80 percent of the time, when we have a sick animal or we’ve got a disease or a pathologic condition, we’re probably turning to a human generic to deal with it.”
Dr. Thomas Cusick also has expressed concern about drug prices. He represents the American Animal Hospital Association on the AVMA Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee, which advises the AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents. He is a solo practitioner at Watertown Animal Hospital in Watertown, Massachusetts, outside of Boston.
Most of the price spikes seem to follow shortages, in Dr. Cusick’s experience. He said, ”It is easier on the human side to make these huge jumps because the insurance companies, not most individuals, see the increase. These increases affect how some diseases are treated since owners are declining drugs that they cannot afford.”
