Patent ID: 8293265

Claim:
A process for manufacturing multiple units of an edible soft chewable medication (“soft chewable”) having consistent composition and weight, the method comprising: (a) providing ingredients for the soft chewable to the mixing chamber of a mixer, wherein the ingredients consist of (i) 0.001 to 75% of an anti-parasiticidal or antibiotic active agent, wherein the active agent is adversely affected by temperatures typically generated by extrusion, is not palatable, or both; and (ii) palatable food grade dry inactive ingredients including at least one each of a flavoring, a binder, a bulking agent, a humectant, an oil and an excipient; (b) blending the active agent and dry inactive ingredients in the mixing chamber by casting the ingredients against the walls of the mixing chamber space, wherein operation of the low shear mixer causes an edible dry soft chew mixture to be formed having the active ingredient uniformly blended therein; (c) adding a first softening agent consisting of polyethylene glycol or paraffin wax, together with 1 to 3% w/w of a further softening agent selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol, magnesium stearate, calcium stearate or sodium lauryl sulfate to the dry mixture and blending the ingredients together within the mixer to form a soft chewable mixture having a meat-like texture; (d) removing the soft chewable mixture from the mixer; and, (e) molding the edible soft chewable mixture into individual unit masses without need for prior cooling of the chewable mixture or application of compression heat thereto, wherein the unit masses so formed are of consistent weight and active content from unit to unit and are generally more palatable to cats and dogs than tablet dosage forms of the active agent, wherein no cooking extrusion is performed during practice of the method, and wherein further no water or animal origin ingredients are added to the active agent or mixture during performance of the method.