FDA wants Fla. pharmacy blamed for deaths of 21 polo horses to stop production of animal drugs

FDA wants pharmacy to stop making animal drugs

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants a Florida pharmacy to stop making animal drugs after it mixed a brew of supplements that killed 21 elite polo horses last year.

The FDA has asked a federal judge to issue an injunction against the pharmacy, Franck’s Compounding Lab in Ocala.

Pharmacists use compounding to mix drugs for specific patients, typically done when someone is allergic to inactive ingredients in FDA-approved medicines or needs a different dose than what is commercially available.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Florida last week, the FDA accuses Franck’s of illegally compounding animal drugs and creating unsafe products.

Franck’s said in a statement that it would fight the FDA’s filing, adding that its business was “legal and medically vital.”