Prozinc vs. PZI

Hello,
Trina has been on Prozinc since it has came out a year or two ago. She does great on it. My vet has tried to order more & was told that it is backordered & that they could only send her 2 bottles. Prozinc also told her they hope to have a shipment sent out the end of this month but still may only allow 2 bottles per vet. Someome else told her it's probably discontinued. Since she has numerous clients who's pets are on Prozinc (and do great on it) she opted to find an alternative. So she ordered PZI from Wedgewood Pharmacy. She said since it's a different manufacturer to start out at a lower dose. Both of these bottles that I have (the Prozinc & PZI) say that they are protamine zinc but the Prozinc says recombinant human insulin on it. There is not much info. on the bottle of PZI I just got yesterday. Does anyone know if the PZI is made the same way the Prozinc is?
Trina has been diabetic for 8 years & this is the 4th time her insulin has been discontinued. It is very frustrating when they stop making a product that is working well!!!!
Thanks,
Missy & Trina

 

This webpage also say that the Wedgewood PZI is made with recombinant human insulin. Thus it appears that they are very similar. The concentration of ProZinc is 40 units/ml. What is the concentration of the Wedgewood insulin you received? The site ways:3 strengths of PZI Injection Suspension are available
http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/learning- ... -cats.html

Is the vial you received sealed like the ProZinc? locally compounded PZI insulin has always been available and it is manufactured in small lost and injected into empty vials and thus the vials do not arrive sealed.
If you are not the minimum BG between shots is not low I would use the same dose.

 

Hi Missy,

Dandy was prescribed ProZinc when he was living in Buffalo, NY, but since we moved down to Central PA, I haven't been able to get it anywhere, so I feel your pain. I eventually ended up having to go through 1-800 PetMeds. They've always had it (for the past year anyway), and I was ordering it somewhat often at 6 units BID (2x a day). They frequently have it on sale, and if you google search, you can find a coupon code for 10% off of that. It's still not cheap, and be prepared to pay a $19.99 overnight shipping fee.

I know this doesn't help you with your specific question, but I thought I would mention it in case you needed a temporary solution while your vet / vet's supplier get things squared away.

I'm actually working right now on getting Dandy switched over to Lantus, since I can at least get a hold of that consistently. The whole switching process has basically gotten me to start over, and make sure I'm doing it right this time around with home testing (and no dry food)...

Best of luck,
Russ & Dandy

 

just got off the phone with a guy from Boerhinger (sp?), the makers of prozinc, and he said they are not discontinuing it but it is indeed on back order. he said they are indeed expecting a release of more at the end of this month.

take it with a grain of salt i suppose. i asked him a few times about being discontinued and he said no each time, no himhawing around or hesitation. i mentioned the 2 bottle limit thing and he didn't say anything in regards to that. i also said something to the effect that it's nothing like the fda did with pzi right and he said no soooooooo .......

 

Very interesting that Boerhinger said they are not discontinuing it. I wonder why it is backordered. I just checked the new bottle from Wedgewood & it is sealed but it's a different seal than what was on Prozinc. It's silver with a round tab to pull it off. It is still 40 units. And I just realized it expries in Oct. 2012. So I just called my vet because all of the other insulins she's used lasted longer than that (trina takes 6 months to use a bottle) & my vet said that because Wedgewood compounds it that it only lasts 3 months. This totally stinks!!! I'm wondering if I should try to order it through 1-800 pet meds for now & return this Wedgewood one to the vet. And maybe in 6 mths. the supplier will have things squared away. Hmmmm.
Thank you everyone for your help!
Missy

 

I had a chat with my vet last month, and she has always (since it became available) prescribed compounded bovine PZI (that's what Bob had). There were two major sources for it. BCP and VPA labs, both in Texas. There were also smaller labs that made and sold it.
A couple of months ago, she said she had to switch to Prozinc (the rDNA insulin). VPA was the place she had always sent her clients to to buy it, and she could no longer get it from them. It was rarely available from BCP, so rather than have her clients not be able to get insulin when they needed it, she decided to use Prozinc instead. Several people here, and she, have said that it has become hard to get Prozinc now because it is "always on back-order".

My guess is that with the old compounded PZI being harder and harder to find, many vets are doing the same thing my vet did, and because of that, Prozinc from Boehringer can't keep up with the orders?

Now, it appears that there are also compounded human rDNA versions of "PZI" available. They can't call it "Prozinc" because that is the name that Boehringer sells theirs under.

So, there are two completely different compounded insulins available (although I think the bovine type is just about gone from the market). After reading what I've read tonight, I think I would stay away from any form of compounded PZI. The problem with compounding in general is consistency in product quality. I'm going to include a couple of links.
This is the information from Wedgewood. They make a compounded human rDNA version of PZI
http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/learn...amine-zinc-insulin-pzi-for-dogs-and-cats.html

These links are pages by Dr. Mark Peterson, and he explains the difference between the Boehringer product and the newer compounded products and why they are inferior:
http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/09/q-diabetic-cat-on-compounded-insulin.html

What I found nice was that this vet has a link to "Binky's Page" there.
http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/06/characteristics-of-commercially.html (this was published just last month)

What I can't find anywhere is a list of the 12 labs that the compounded products were made in.

I think I'd stay away from compounded products, and I'm really glad that I only had to buy it once, so I didn't have to worry about batch consistency while I was given bovine compounded PZI to Bob.

Carl

 

Oh my gosh, now I am very scared to use the new insulin I was given from Wedgewood. I have enough Prozinc to get me through next week. So I think I will try to order Prozinc online. I wonder why it's available to get online though. You would think those places would be running out of it too. I guess I will try to order it from 1-800 pet meds. I've never done that before, I wonder if a prescription is needed. And I wonder if my vet will let me return the insulin from Wedgewood. I really wish Boehringer could get caught up in manufacturing it & distributing it!
Thank you very much!!!!!

 

i think you will need a script for it from 1-800, i would think the vet would give you one.

as far as why they have it and the vet doesn't, because big companies can buy alot more of it at one time then a little vet's office can. thus they tend to have a decent supply of it already on hand when something like a shortage happens, and they get better prices than the vet anyway. kinda like when the old PZI was announced as being discontinued. people were having a hard time getting it from their vets fairly quickly but could still get it from places like Medicine Man pharmacy pretty easily

 

You might want to share that info about wedgewood and compounding with your vet? Maybe they aren't aware of any issue with it.

Cindy got it right, I'm sure. PetMeds buys in bulk, so they have stockpiles of it.

 

Carl and Cindy are correct. You will need an Rx sent to 1800PetMeds. You can either get your vet to send it for you, or go pick it up and mail it to: 1441 SW 29th Ave Pompano Beach, FL. 33069. (Not as fun as just picking it up, which is another reason I'm working to switch to Lantus).

When you order the ProZinc, 1800PetMeds will ask you to verify your vet information and ask if you are sending an Rx. I would recommend choosing yes, get it in paper form from your vet, and just send it in yourself. I found this led to quicker processing time. Once they verify/fill the prescription, it'll be at your door, near ice, the very next day.

Good luck!

R

 

Thank you everyone sooo much for all the info.! I think I"m going to call the vet Monday morning & talk to her about ordering it online. I'll call 800 pet meds 1st just to confirm that they do have it in stock. I sure hope the vet lets me return the wedgewood insulin. Thanks again!

 

What about BCP PZI? http://www.bcpvetpharm.com/products_bovine.htm How does that compare to ProZinc and other PZI?

 

hmmm, I'm not sure, I'll have to look into that. Thanks!

 

So I just talked to my vets office about ordering from 1 800 Pet Meds. The tech. said she would never order insulin online in fear of the shipping method not keeping it cold enough. So I called pet meds & they said they overnight it for $19.99 & it is packed in dry ice. The vet tech said she would still be cautious about ordering insulin online. She recommeded using the Wedgewood pharmacy PZI insulin. I also told her that Prozinc has a much longer expiration date than the PZI from Wedgewood & that it takes Trina 6 months to use a bottle. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet regarding which insulin to go with. Has anyone had problems with ordering insulin online?
I almost forgot to mention, the tech. said she is going to call WEdgewood to see if the insulin can be made in smaller batches for Trina. And would also ask them if the insulin would last past the expiration date.
Thanks,
Missy

 

Hi Missy,

I can vouch for 1800PetMeds. I've ordered from them at least 6 or 7 times. Each time the package came adequately packed and chilled, and came on time, overnight through FedEx with a tracking number. It was packed in a mini foam cooler, with ice packs, and the insulin was well packed. Temperature seemed to be within acceptable ranges (not too hot, not too cold).

I wasn't home testing then, so I guess I can't tell you if I got any bad batches, but I noticed no visible change between 1800PetMeds ProZinc and the ProZinc I got directly from the vet. Conceivably, vets are also receiving it via mail, so I don't see the difference, really.

1800PetMeds has been around a while and seems pretty reputable. My guess is they'd also let you return it if you suspect an ineffective batch.

Just my two cents...

R

 

Thank you for vouching for Pet Meds!!! I appreciate the info.!
Missy