Your Cat May Be Pharma's Next Goldmine

Of course, you may not realize that because of all the newly approved pet meds making headlines these days are for dogs - Pfizer's Slentrol for fat fido and Lilly's Reconcile for anxious pups - or is that anxious owners?

The reality, however, is that Fluffy may be the next big opportunity. And it's just a question of dosing.

"There is huge potential for feline products, but the industry doesn't have a grasp on that because cats are sometimes difficult to deal with," Ernst Heinen, US vp of R&D for Bayer Animal Health, tells Chemical & Engineering News. They usually reject oral meds, have sensitive skin, and may develop cancer at injection sites, yet drugmakers persist because, as Heinen notes, "there are more cats in the US than dogs." And that's got to be hard to ignore, yes?

So how about an amphetamine called Shy-Away? The pill could be marketed for all those stand-offish cats who won't cuddle with their rejected owners.

Hat tip to PharmaGossip