If you thought obese humans are the only creatures on earth susceptible to harm from a diet pill, consider overweight dogs, specifically those taking Pfizer'sSlentrol pill. The FDA is planning a pharmacogenomic study to determine whether reported adverse drug events are associated with genetic variations in the dogs treated with the pill, which was approved in 2007.
Why? A preliminary analysis by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine indicates potential correlations between certain dog breeds and some side effects, according to a notice in the Federal Register. The notice did not specify side effects or breeds, but Slentrol labeling shows that vomiting occurred in nearly 25 percent of the dogs, 12 percent suffered diarrhea and nearly 10 percent grew lethargic (so much for relying on exercise for losing weight). Pfizer claims studies yielded a weight loss of nearly 12 percent.
A Pfizer spokesman tells The Wall Street Journal that the breeds most often associated with these side effects are labrador retrievers, beagles, golden retrievers, dachshunds, pugs and Chihuahuas. But he insists that the drugmaker has not seen any correlation between specific dog breeds and specific adverse events.
The issue may seem trite, but this occurs as more drugmakers seek to diversify by expanding their animal health businesses. Pfizer, for instance, generated more than $1.7 billion in sales during the first half of 2010, a 47 percent increase. That amounted to 5 percent of total revenue. Meanwhile, primary care products rose 12 percent (see 2010 second-quarter report here). Finding a cure for cancer and other human ailments may be important, but Pfizer shareholders are clearly seeing more growth come from treating dogs, cats and other beasts.
7 Comments
jeezum crow! take the darn thing for a walk!
Week of the pet at pharmalot!
Are pet-owners dull in general?
If you're not in the city, spend a few bucks and put in a fenced in yard (not an invisible fence). Dogs will get their exercise chasing critters, and you won't have to worry about obesity. There are also treadmills for dogs for the bad weather. I used one when I was training dogs for competition. They're great. Also, most dog people know that when you read the label on the sack of dog food, you can cut the recommended serving size by one-third and still be ok. Finally, NEVER give table scraps. They're usually calorie rich and not good for the dog anyway.
And so for the weekend, Pharmalot has "gone to the dogs!" I do suppose they deserved equal time after the cats and the primates!
NOTE - Thsi as a nattempt at humor with no disrespect to the issues addressed in any of these stories.
"..vomiting occurred in nearly 25 percent of the dogs, 12 percent suffered diarrhea .."
Yep, both ways could account for that 12% weight loss.
And a 47% increase in animal health sales for Pfizer? That's a pretty hefty number considering that a whack of Big Pharma drugs for people are facing a big patent cliff soon.
Thanks Ed - I'll be watching this one.... :-)
cheers, C.
I can't believe that people actually gave this to their dogs - disgusting. I've often said I wish I was a dog so someone could restrict my food intake and exercise me, but apparently I was barking up the wrong tree. Thanks for the blog post on this. Nice graphic accompanying the post, by the way.
I think another reason Pfizer would be fighting the idea of breed selectiveness is that these are very common breeds and very likely to be overweight. not much good for Pfizer if they can't tolerate the drug.