Elizabeth, It almost sounds like a Monty Python skit in the making...
I applaud you for your perseverance and your patience - I probably would have had a meltdown by now!! Please keep on keeping-on, you're doing a wonderful thing for all of us! Kat (Mew Jersey) On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:54:02 -0400 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Reply-To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: Acemannan availability > > I think my ear is purple from being on hold and I am quite dizzy from the > "run-around". > > That being said, I am still awaiting calls from the CEO of Carrington Labs > and from the FDA. I contacted the USDA and talked to the main office, > USDA-Veterinary Services, USDA-APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Investigative > Services), USDA-Animal Care, and finally a member of the senior staff at > USDA-APHIS, Dr. Davis. Dr. Davis was very helpful and he has worked in this > office for many years. He tells me that injectible Acemannan falls outside > the jurisdiction of the USDA. They handle vaccines - but no other veterinary > medicines. He checked his resources and said that this drug was approved by > the FDA and that it would fall under their jurisdiction. > > I asked Dr. Davis if the USDA removed products from commerce while conducting > audits. He told me that he has never heard of that happening in all his > years working for the USDA. > > After my conversation with Dr. Davis, I called Dr. Nicholson at Veterinary > Products Laboratories and told her what I had learned from the USDA. I asked > her if they had documentation that informed them of the audit and if she > could check that for me and verify the initiator of the audit. She told me > that this information was passed down to them from Carrington Labs. I asked > Dr. Nicholson if she thought it would be helpful for me to write my > congressman. She told me that a lot of people were doing that and it could > only help. > > Meanwhile, we wait to talk to the FDA and Carrington Labs (or rather, the > appropriate office for redirection of blame). > > Stay tuned for another episode in the continuing saga... > Elizabeth > > *Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.* > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Sent: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 1:09 PM > Subject: Re: Acemannan availability > > > Dr. Nicholson at Veterinary Laboratories returned my call a moment ago. The > organization responsible for this audit is the USDA. She gave me some > contact numbers there and I am going to do my very best to be professional > when I express to the USDA my displeasure with knowing that there are cats > whose lives may have depended on this product while they took their time > doing their audit. Dr. Nicholson told me this one man who is in charge of > the veterinary division may not even know about this but I assured her that > he would after I spoke to him. > > The mixture used in the injectible Acemannan (pronounced like it sounds - > "Ace manan") is proprietary and so there is no generic and they have people > from over seas calling everyday trying to get the product. Right now, it > simply isn't available. Dr. Nicholson did not know why Acemannan Hydrogel is > not subjected to the audit when it contains the same raw ingredients. There > is another lab right now that has an audit going on but the product being > audited is not currently withheld from commerce. The USDA has some questions > to answer. > > Meanwhile, I asked Dr. Nicholson if there was a human equivalent to > Acemannan. She told me that Manapol Plus (by Carrington Labs) is used for > people. It is taken orally rather than as an injection. She was not sure if > this product had been studied for use in cats but she thought it may have > been. > > I asked her if the USDA had given any indication of how long this audit would > last - and she told me that the last she heard, they hoped to be through in > November. > > What I want to know is what gives the USDA the right to remove a proprietary > product from the market that has been proven to save cat's lives? Even if > lives weren't at stake - what gives them the right to shut down this > company's bottom line? What if this were the only product they made? This > goes against everything our system stands for and I refuse to sit passively > while this happens. I'm wondering if I need to write my congressman. > > > Kiss the kitties for me, > elizabeth > > *Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.* > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Sent: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:47 AM > Subject: Re: Acemannan availability > > > Elizabeth, > > Thanks for doing this!!! That is awesome of you to > take time to find out what's going on. You are > helping out so many others by doing this-that's why I > like you! > > :) > Wendy > > --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > I've been on the phone this morning with Veterinary > > Products Laboratories. They were unable to answer > > my questions but say they will have someone call me. > > I also left a message for the CEO of Carrington > > Labs (without a great deal of hope that they will > > return my call). I did my best to be friendly and > > professional...here is a list of my questions (and > > general talking points): > > > > I understand that the injectable form of veterinary > > Acemannan is being withheld from the market due to > > an audit of this product. As a member of the > > felineleukemia.org mailing list, I would like to ask > > you some questions. We have no commercial interests > > and only want to give our pets the best possible > > life. Many of us have very sick cats with feline > > leukemia and would very much like to purchase your > > product. > > > > 1) What organization is responsible for the > > unavailability of this product? Do you have the > > name of a contact person for this organization? > > > > 2) When was this audit instigated? > > > > 3) It was my understanding that this is a > > routine audit ???????? yet this audit has been going on > > for well over a month. This is the first I have > > heard of a routine audit that prohibits people who > > need the drug from purchasing it for such a long > > period of time. How often does this happen and are > > there any other products which might suddenly become > > unavailable for long periods of time? > > > > 4) I notice that wound dressings containing > > Acemannan Hydrogel are still available on the market > > ???????? how is it that the non-injectable form of the > > product is not affected by the audit? > > > > 5) Is this product available outside the US? > > > > 6) Is it possible to purchase the raw materials > > and formulate Acemannan for injection for personal > > use only? > > > > 7) Where can I go for more information? > > > > Thank you for your time. > > > > I don't know where to go from here. I'm thinking of > > contacting the FDA and asking them which > > organization instigated this audit and ask where I > > can go for more information. If I find out anything > > further, I will let you all know. > > > > elizabeth > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > Sent: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 6:26 AM > > Subject: Re: Acemannan availability > > > > > > Soon after they first began to withhold this product > > from the market, I called Veterinary Products Lab. > > (Hideyo found out about this initially when she was > > trying to buy the product). It was still available > > on their site then too. That's when they told me > > about the audit. At that time I searched for > > restrictions and found nothing as well. They said > > this kind of audit was routine but I find that hard > > to believe since it has been withheld for so long. > > > > elizabeth > > > > > > In a message dated 10/26/2006 6:12:37 A.M. Central > > Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > http://www.vpl.com/product.php?catmain=&mainkey=&pid=80&key=8&cat=Wound%20Management > > > > so the injectible is still on their current webpage, > > for what that's worth! > > > > On 10/26/06, Paolo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I dug in my old Emails about ACEMANNAN (please > > note the double N in the > > > spelling, if you use a search engine ACEMANAN > > won't work), and in effects > > > once I contacted Carrington Labs, and they > > redirected me to Veterinary > > > Products Laboratories (VPL, http://www.vpl.com), > > that unfortunately I > > > could not contact at that time because their mail > > server kept bouncing > > > back my emails. > > > From the info in my possession, injected Acemannan > > works great with a > > > number of *localized* (i.e. not spread) tumors. > > Carrington Labs, at that > > > time, did not mention any FDA restriction. > > > > > > Good luck > > > Paolo > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! > > Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > > > > MaryChristine > > > > AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats > > MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ICQ: 289856892 > > > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of > > free safety and security tools, free access to > > millions of high-quality videos from across the web, > > free AOL Mail and more. > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > > > > Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security > tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, > free AOL Mail and more. > ________________________________________________________________________ > Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security > tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, > free AOL Mail and more. >
