Vigophos as a source of phosphorous

Due to the recent withdrawal of Foston® 20% w/v solution for injection (MSD) from the market in the UK (1). Vigophos is now the only injectable phosphorous product licensed and available on the market in the UK.

We have received a lot of enquiries recently from vets wanting to know more about Vigophos© 100 mg/ml + 0.05 mg/ml solution for injection for cattle as a source of phosphorous for cattle.
The veterinary team at Forte Healthcare Ltd have compiled the following information that we hope will be beneficial in addressing the practicalities of using Vigophos as a source of phosphorous.

Phosphorous sources:
Foston contained toldimphos sodium2 as its phosphorous source and Vigophos contains butafosfan3 as its phosphorus source. These are extremely similar sources of phosphorous, both being derivatives of organic phosphoric acids. Vigophos has the additional benefit of containing cyanocobalamin, for Vitamin B12 supplementation.

Dosing:
Foston contained 20% toldimphos sodium and Vigophos contains 10% butafosfan. The licensed dose of Foston for cattle is 10-25ml2. The licensed dose of Vigophos is 5ml/100kg (approx. 33ml for a large cow)3. Therefore the licensed dose of Vigophos will be approximately equivalent to 15-20ml Foston in the provision of phosphorous. Equally it is known that the butafosfan and cyanocobalamin in Vigophos act synergistically.

We hope this information is useful to support your clinical judgement. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Veterinary Team by email on vets@fortehealthcare.com.
More information on Vigophos can be found in the SPC.

References:
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foston-20-wv-solution-for-injection-product-defect-recall-alert (accessed 23/04/2020)
2. SPC Foston 20% w/v, solution for injection, July 2012
3. SPC Vigophos 100 mg / ml + 0.05 mg / ml solution for injection for cattle, March 2018