Epicur Pharma, a division of Stokes Healthcare and leading 503B outsourcing facility of veterinary medications, is proud to announce the addition of omeprazole injection suspension for horses to its product portfolio. In partnership with the Bova group, a leading compounding pharmacy in Australia and a specials manufacturer in the UK, Epicur is bringing the same unique, proven formulation of omeprazole injection to the U.S. for the treatment of equine gastric ulcers.
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., Feb. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Epicur Pharma, a division of Stokes Healthcare and leading 503B outsourcing facility of veterinary medications, is proud to announce the addition of omeprazole injection suspension for horses to its product portfolio. In partnership with the Bova group, a leading compounding pharmacy in Australia and a specials manufacturer in the UK, Epicur is bringing the same unique, proven formulation of omeprazole injection to the U.S. for the treatment of equine gastric ulcers.
Equine gastric disease, an umbrella term describing two different diseases in the horse's stomach, Equine Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD), is very common, and equine veterinarians have been treating the disease for decades with an oral paste administered daily. Epicur's release of omeprazole as an injection offers veterinarians an innovative alternative for equine gastric ulcers. Benefits of this formulation over the traditional oral paste include:
- Much more profound and consistent acid suppression compared to oral treatment (Sykes et al., 2017) and, as a result, consistently better treatment responses in published studies
- Improved compliance with medication as only one injection is required every 5-7 days, rather than oral administration (Rendle, D.I. & Gough, S.L., 2024)
- No need for withholding feed or other medications prior to administration (in contrast to oral treatments)
- More rapid healing with ESGD healing in 10 days and EGGD in 20 days with the injection, compared to the traditional month of treatment with oral treatment (Sundra T, Kelty E, Rendle D, 2024)
- Clinical cure in situations where oral treatment has shown very poor efficacy (Rendle, D.I. & Gough, S.L., 2024)
- 100% manufactured following FDA-enforced regulations
Stokes Healthcare and Bova first partnered in April 2024 to give U.S. veterinarians and pet owners access to regulated treatment for cats with FIP with a mission to improve animal care globally. Epicur President Michael Tursi said of the latest partnership for injectable omeprazole, "We are excited to introduce another of Bova's groundbreaking drugs—this time to equine veterinarians across the U.S. We partnered with Bova because we were impressed by their years of dedicated research and the clinical studies that back their unique formulations. The omeprazole injection suspension is truly a game-changer for equine gastric disease."
Bova Managing Director Nick Bova, said, "With over 200,000 doses sold globally, we're excited to have our omeprazole formulation made available in the United States. Epicur/Stokes takes the science and quality of veterinary medication as seriously as we do at Bova, so U.S. veterinarians can be confident in the quality of the formulation they get."
With the launch of the omeprazole injection in the U.S. in December 2024, Epicur also welcomed Brett Davidson to the team to lead the company's equine division. As the former Bova National Sales Manager in Australia, Davidson brings 16 years of equine expertise and an understanding of Bova's history, which gives him an advantage when discussing formulations. "Given my experience with the equine products that Epicur and Stokes are launching, I'm eager to help the team expand their footprint in the U.S. equine market," said Davidson.
Epicur Pharma is manufacturing the only injectable omeprazole formulation available in the U.S. that is identical to the Bova formulation used in clinical studies across the globe. Epicur's omeprazole injection is now available to ship nationwide, with only 1-2 business days in transit. Learn more about the formulation and how to order it at epicurpharma.com/omeprazole-injection.
About Stokes Healthcare:
Epicur® Pharma is a leading FDA-registered 503B outsourcing facility in the veterinary industry, manufacturing drugs such as Tacrolimus Eyedrops, Buprenorphine Injection and Gabapentin tablets. Epicur adheres to Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), which are the same rules and regulations followed by commercial manufacturers. As an FDA-registered facility, Epicur produces drugs with reliable potency and sterility from batch to batch, reducing veterinary practice liability and improving patient outcomes. Unlike traditionally compounded drugs, outsourcing facility products are available for unlimited hospital administration nationwide and, when allowed by state law, dispensing. Epicur Pharma is proud to be a pioneer in animal drug standards, offering one of the largest selections of manufactured drugs that are traditionally compounded.
The Epicur brand of veterinary drug products ensures the highest quality backed by FDA oversight. Epicur products are being distributed directly to veterinary hospitals from its outsourcing facility and offered through Stokes Pharmacy for individual patient prescriptions.
About Bova:
The Bova Group comprises Bova Aus and Bova UK. Established in 1968 as a human pharmacy, Bova transitioned to veterinary compounding in 2010 under Nick Bova's leadership. By 2016, it had become the largest veterinary compounder in Australia, catering to numerous veterinarians nationwide. Bova Aus has implemented a robust quality assurance system for popular, high-risk, and complex compounded products in collaboration with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to ensure compliance with prevailing regulations, adhering to USP or BP pharmacopoeia standards for quality control.
In 2017, Nick expanded operations to the UK with Bova UK, a Specials Manufacturer focused on delivering high-quality Specials Medications to the UK veterinary sector. Authorized by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the facilities obtained a Manufacturer 'Specials' Authorisation (ManSA) in 2017 for both sterile and non-sterile medicines. The company upholds stringent quality standards compliant with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) as outlined by the European Medicine Standards. For further information, please visit www.bova.vet.
Media Contact
Michael Tursi, Epicur Pharma, 1 856-208-7811, [email protected], https://epicurpharma.com/
SOURCE Epicur Pharma
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