FDA approves first cancer drug for dogs
The first cancer drug made specifically for canines has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Palladia, manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health Inc., has been approved to treat a type of cancer that accounts for about one in five cases of canine skin tumors.
Canine cutaneous mast cell tumors, although they can appear insignificant and can sometimes be easily removed with surgery, sometimes lead to life-threatening disease, according to an FDA press release.
Cancer drugs are already used on dogs, under controlled circumstances, but until now they have all been medicines developed for human use.
“This cancer drug approval for dogs is an important step forward for veterinary medicine,” Bernadette Dunham, director of FDA’s center for veterinary medicine, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Prior to this approval, veterinarians had to rely on human oncology drugs, without knowledge of how safe or effective they would be for dogs,” Dunham said. “Today’s approval offers dog owners, in consultation with their veterinarian, an option for treatment of their dog’s cancer.”
Palladia is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that works by killing tumor cells and cutting off blood supply to the tumor. Common side effects include diarrhea, decrease or loss of appetite, lameness, weight loss and blood in the stool.
Posted by jwoestendiek June 3rd, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: approval, approves, cancer, canine, cutaneous mast cell, dog, dogs, drug, fda, food and drug administration, medicine, news, ohmidog!, palladia, pfizer, tumors, veterinary
