Safety assessment of moxidectin 1% injectable on reproductive performance in beef cows

The safety of moxidectin 1% injectable anthelmintic (0.6 mg/kg of body weight, 3 times the recommended dose) was evaluated in 145 reproductively sound, beef cows undergoing estrous cycle. Five treatment groups received moxidectin 1% injectable at specific times relative to a synchronized estrus (day 0): preovulatory treatment (day -2, treatment group 1), treatment at ovulation (day 0, group 2), and treatment after ovulation (days 7, 14, and 28, group 3, 4, and 5, respectively). Two groups of control cows received an injection of vehicle only at times corresponding to treatment in the other groups (6 at days -2, 7, and 28; 7 at days 0, 7, and 14). A final control group (8) received neither product or vehicle. Adverse clinical reactions were not observed in moxidectin- or vehicle-treated cows. Cows were bred by artificial insemination between days -2 and 25 and, subsequently, by breeding-sound bulls through day 65 of the study. Treatment and control groups did not differ in pregnancy rate or time to conception. Moxidectin (at 3 times the therapeutic dose) did not have deleterious effects on cow reproductive performance as examined (eg, at folliculogenesis, ovulation, and the early embryonic phase of development).