Excede is the latest antibiotic offering from Pfizer Animal Health targeted at bovine respiratory disease.
BRD, or shipping fever, costs the North American cattle industry more than half a billion dollars annually and has been the target of drug makers for years.
The disease causes higher levels of illness and death and ties up feedlot staff who must treat infected animals.
Last year Pfizer introduced Draxxin, chemically distinct from Excede, but also a long-acting antibiotic that is targeted at calves entering the feeding system.
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Excede, a product that was under development by Pharmacia Upjohn and acquired through the merger with Pfizer in 2003, is a long-acting product that is used to treat animals that show signs of BRD infection.
Like Draxxin, Excede is designed to reduce repeated treatments of calves.
“This is a big deal, especially for larger feedlots that are having difficulty with (having enough) staff,” said veterinarian Les Byers of Pfizer Canada.
A relatively small dose, 1.5 millilitres per 100 pounds of calf, is injected between the skin and cartilage of the ear. This is done using a specially designed, 16 gauge, stainless steel needle, beveled to 45 degrees, versus the typical, and often smaller bore, 33 degree needles used for antibiotic injection.
“Excede is applied much like (hormone) implants are. The needle that comes with the product won’t skip as easily across the skin as a traditional one,” said Byers.
The product has a three day meat-safe withdrawal period because the drug is located in tissue that is removed at slaughter.
But the pooling of the drug in the ear allows it to provide seven to 10 day treatment to the animal, reducing the need to treat again for BRD.
“We recommend that calves be placed back in their home pens right after treatment,” said Byers.
He said the animals are able to recover in a less stressful environment than a sick pen.
“We see them perform better on their regular rations and return to gaining (weight) more quickly than if they are taken away.”
The product competes with other antimicrobial drugs such as Micotil and Nuflor and is priced similarly.
Byers said the longer-acting products also reduce the development of antibiotic resistance because of the efficacy of the molecule, combined with the length of time it is in the animal’s body.
Excede received approval and became available in Canada two months ago.
