By Mark Gonzalez, PharmD, PCCA Clinical Compounding Pharmacist

Recently, I read that the United States Department of Agriculture has licensed approximately 2,400 zoos or “animal exhibitors.” These can include general zoos, aquariums, safari theme parks, nature centers and aviaries. Most of the larger and more well-known facilities are members of the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) which has licensed 240 facilities around the world (217 in the U.S. alone), and these facilities care for approximately 800,000 animals belonging to 6,000 species. When you see the immensity of those numbers, you may be asking yourself, “Why am I not providing custom medication options for those facilities?”

From personal experience, I can share that I was very intimidated by the thought of marketing to practitioners that have reached the top of their professional games. My pharmacy was located in Southern California, and within a 90-minute driving radius, I had four world-renowned zoological facilities: the Sea World Aquarium, the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. As a new startup pharmacy in 1999 filling just a handful of prescriptions my first year, I thought, “Why would any of these powerhouses want to do business with me?” After marketing to them for two years, I was able to get in, build relationships and serve them consistently for the remaining 17 years that I owned my pharmacy. Here is what I learned through the process, and I hope it helps tear down the walls of intimidation that you may have regarding this subspecialty of veterinary compounding.

1. Zoo veterinarians are some of the nicest practitioners you will work with.

I thought it would have been the opposite. I honestly expected this elite group of veterinarians to be rather pretentious, but I was wrong. Zoo vets love their job, the challenges that it brings and the patients they work with. Because of this love for their patients, and ultimately the responsibility of taking care of rare, endangered and often very expensive patients, they need to have a relationship with a compounding pharmacist who will help them meet their patient-specific needs.

2. Even if a zoo has a relationship with another compounding pharmacy, they still may want a relationship with you.

Do not be intimidated by other colleagues that may have marketed before you. Most zoos have relationships with multiple pharmacies. Each pharmacy may have a few specialties that set them apart. That does not mean that you should not be included in that list. Market your services no matter where you are located and what your current volume may be. You might just fill a void that other pharmacies never identified.

3. Zoo veterinarians are not interested in how big your pharmacy is. They just want trust and fast response time.

Trust is a given for any relationship to work, but especially when providing patient care services. Trust is built by being honest and providing these special patients with unique and viable options. And it’s OK if you don’t always have the right answer at the tip of your tongue as long as you research the right answers (which also builds trust).

Response time is crucial when you are dealing with large groups of animals in urgent situations. I was called by a local aquarium to formulate a phenobarbital injection (which was on backorder at the time) when there was an algae bloom that resulted in the release of domoic acid, a neurotoxin for dolphins. The aquarium needed the compound ASAP, or many of the dolphins they were working with would die. Our quick response time built our reputation due to an increase in trust between the aquarium and our staff. That moment solidified our relationship for years to come. This demonstrates that it is not the size of the pharmacy that matters; it is your ability to come by their side at a moment's notice that really counts.

4. Zoos require and crave creativity.

“How do you make a wound-care gel for an eight-ton elephant?” “What can you do to help us medicate 200 penguins with an anti-malarial every other day?” “I have a walrus with 10-inch nostrils that needs a nasal spray for a fungal infection. Can you help?” These are all real questions that local zoos posed to me. As compounders, we take pride in our creativity, and zoo/aquarium compounding allows us to put that skill to practice. Do not be afraid to think outside the box.

5. Relationships with zoo trainers and lab staff are just as important as the ones you build with veterinarians.

The trainers are actually the ones working with the animals. Most vets are not even allowed to work on an animal without the trainer. The lab staff are usually the ones placing orders and checking stock on compounded agents for the zoo. Do not disregard these crucial members of the team.

I hope that these insights and tips are as helpful for you as they were for me. Zoo compounding was one of the most exciting and fulfilling parts of my practice. Step into this marketplace, and you will remember why you entered into compounding in the first place.

Mark Gonzalez, PharmD, is a Clinical Compounding Pharmacist at PCCA. He owned and operated Med Specialties, a pharmacy in Yorba Linda, California, for 18 years before joining the staff of PCCA. His areas of specialty are hormone replacement therapy, dermatology and veterinary compounding.