Transcutol® V is used in numerous veterinary medicines worldwide, covering all major species, including cattle, poultry, swine, cats, and dogs. This versatile solvent is effectively incorporated into oral, topical, and injectable dosage forms, such as solutions, suspensions, spot-ons, and creams. It is truly an essential excipient that every veterinary formulator should have in their toolbox!
Transcutol® V, your ally for formulating veterinary medicines
This month, under the spotlight is our product, Transcutol® V! This excipient is a must when it comes to the formulation of veterinary medicines, as it can be used for oral, topical, and parenteral dosage forms. Let’s focus on this multifaceted excipient!
What is Transcutol® V?
Transcutol® V is a solvent with a wide precedence of use in the veterinary market. Its chemical name is diethylene glycol monoethyl ether – it is manufactured by the condensation of ethylene oxide and ethanol, followed by a distillation. Transcutol® V is compliant to European and US regulations for all veterinary drugs.
No MRL required for Transcutol® V
A particularity of this excipient is that it does not have a maximum residue limit for food-producing animals. According to the European Medicines Agency, “the maximum residue limit (MRL) is the maximum allowed concentration of a residue in a food product obtained from an animal that has received a veterinary medicine or that has been exposed to a biocidal product for use in animal husbandry.” Hence, it is a determining criterion for formulators that need to ensure the product is compliant with the regulations. The EMA has established in 2015 that no MRL is required for diethylene glycol monoethyl ether for all food producing species (EMA/CVMP/36933/2015).
Transcutol® V in oral dosage forms
In oral formulations, Transcutol® V is used for liquid or semi-solid dosage forms, such as drinking-water medications, solutions, or oral pastes and gels.
Drinking-water medications are powerful dosage forms to easily deliver drugs to animals – especially for livestock (poultry, cattle…). They are used to rapidly treat a large group of animals, via their drinking circuit. Stock solutions are preferred over soluble powders to eliminate dust, handling and dissolution issues. Transcutol® V is the ideal excipient for aqueous solutions and self-emulsifying systems as it is stable upon high dilutions. Ask for our case studies with ivermectin and essential oils!
Transcutol® V in topical dosage forms
In the veterinary market, spot-on/pour-on formulations are popular dosage forms to deliver antiparasitics. The formulation is applied locally on the fur but is absorbed gradually through the dermis for a systemic action that lasts several weeks to several months. Transcutol® V is the must-see excipient in spot-on/pour-on: it is used in at least 50% of the existing formulations containing fipronil or methoprene (PharmaCircle data, 2024).
Its application is not limited to spot-on/pour-on: indeed, the topical and transdermal administration route uses a wide range of dosage forms such as gels, collars, ointments, patches, solutions... Also, different body zones can be treated, and Transcutol® V is found in otic formulations against otitis, with antibiotics, antifungals and corticosteroids.
Transcutol® V in parenteral dosage forms
Finally, Transcutol® V can be used in solutions for injections – simple formulations in a single phase. Injections are convenient dosage forms for veterinarians and have a quick onset of action: they are widely used for administering antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. In this case, solubilizers such as Transcutol® V are necessary to prevent injection site precipitation, lower the solution viscosity and lower the irritation at the injection site.
Transcutol® V has a wide precedence of use in antibiotic injections: for example, it has been reported to be used with florfenicol, a broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against most gram-negative bacteria in companion animals. This API needs to be administered in high concentration but is poorly soluble in water: using Transcutol® V as a solubilizer provides a good solubility and viscosity for the solution.
