(a) The Food and Drug Administration has received reports of side effects associated with the oral, injectable, and ophthalmic use of corticosteroid animal drugs. The use of these drugs administered orally or by injection has resulted in premature parturition when administered during the last trimester of pregnancy. Premature parturition may be followed by dystocia, fetal death, retained placenta, and metritis. Additionally, corticosteroids used in dogs, rabbits, and rodents during pregnancy have produced cleft palate in offspring. Use in dogs has resulted in other congenital anomalies, including deformed forelegs, phocomelia, and anasarca. Drugs subject to this section are required to carry the veterinary prescription legend and are subject to the labeling requirements of § 201.105 of this chapter.

(b) In view of these potentially serious side effects, the Food and Drug Administration has concluded that the labeling on or within packaged corticosteroid-containing preparations intended for animal use shall bear conspicuously the following warning statement:

There has been an increasing interest in the use of injectable iron compounds for the prevention or treatment of iron-deficiency anemia in animals. Although some such preparations have been shown to be safe, such articles are regarded as new animal drugs within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Accordingly, an approved new animal drug application is required prior to the marketing of such preparations within the jurisdiction of the act. In addition to the need for demonstrating the safety of such articles, the labeling of such preparations should not only recommend appropriate dosages of iron but also declare the amount (in milligrams) of available iron (Fe) per milliliter of the subject product.

(a) What is free-choice medicated feed? For the purpose of this part, free-choice medicated feed is medicated feed that is placed in feeding or grazing areas and is not intended to be consumed fully at a single feeding or to constitute the entire diet of the animal. Free-choice feeds include, but are not limited to, medicated blocks (agglomerated feed compressed or rendered into a solid mass and cohesive enough to hold its form), mineral mixes, and liquid feed tank supplements (“lick tank” supplements) containing one or more new animal drugs. The manufacture of medicated free-choice feeds is subject to the current good manufacturing practice regulations in part 225 of this chapter for medicated feeds.

(b) What is required for new animal drugs intended for use in free-choice feed? Any new animal drug intended for use in free-choice feed must be approved for such use under section 512 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 360(b)) or listed in the index under section 572 of the act (21 U.S.C. 360ccc-1). Such approvals under section 512 of the act must be:

(1) An original new animal drug application (NADA),

(2) A supplemental NADA, or

(3) An abbreviated NADA.

(c) What are the approval requirements under section 512 of the act for new animal drugs intended for use in free-choice feed? An approval under section 512 of the act for a Type A medicated article intended for use in free-choice feed must contain the following information:

(1) Data, or reference to data in a master file (MF), showing that the target animal consumes the new animal drug in the Type C free-choice feed in an amount that is safe and effective (consumption/effectiveness data); and

(2) Data, or reference to data in an MF, showing the relevant ranges of conditions under which the drug will be chemically and physically stable in the Type C free-choice feed under field conditions.

(d) How are consumption/effectiveness and/or stability data to be submitted? The data must be submitted as follows:

(1) Directly in the NADA, by a sponsor; and/or

(2) To an MF that a sponsor may then reference in its NADA with written consent of the MF holder.

(e) What will be stated in the published approval for a new animal drug intended for use in free-choice feed? The approval of a new animal drug intended for use in free-choice feed, as published in this subchapter, will include:

(1) The formula and/or specifications of the free-choice medicated feed, where the owner of this information requests such publication, or

(2) A statement that the approval has been granted for a proprietary formula and/or specifications.

(f) When is a medicated feed mill license required for the manufacture of a free-choice medicated feed? An approved medicated feed mill license is required for the manufacture of the following types of feeds:

(1) All free-choice medicated feeds that contain a Category II drug, and

(2) Free-choice medicated feeds that contain a Category I drug and use a proprietary formula and/or specifications.