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Abstract
Animal health may significantly affect human health. There is a shortage of drugs approved for animal use; therefore veterinarians use some drugs in an off-label manner to treat patients. FDA and USDA approved drugs must go through extensive research and development to provide evidence of safety and effectiveness before they may be sold. With veterinarians using human drug products off-label, is it cost effective for animal health companies to develop an animal derivative? Will pet owners be willing to possibly pay more for a product that is approved for use specifically for their pet? A literature review, survey and interviews were conducted to answer these questions which found that the costs could be worth the investment, if the drug was made with a unique aspect for animals and marketed as such. In addition, more than half of respondents to the survey and interviews were willing to pay more for an animal approved drug product.