FDA approves Palladia, first canine cancer drug made just f...

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FDA approves Palladia, first canine cancer drug made just for dogs

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wednesday, June 3rd 2009, 11:12 AM

Ross/Getty Thanks to the FDA approval of a new drug, veterinarians can now

fight cancer in dogs with medicine made specifically for canines.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first

drug made specifically to treat cancer in dogs.

Until now, all cancer drugs used in veterinary medicine were developed for

use in humans and were not specifically approved for animals. Federal law

allows veterinarians to administer cancer medicines and other human treatments

under controlled circumstances.

The new drug, 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 — the cancer in question — can appear

small and insignificant when dogs have them, but while some are easily

removed, others can lead to life-threatening disease, according to the FDA.

" 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.

Read more:

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/06/03/2009-06-03_fda_approves_cancer_d\

rug_for_dogs.html#ixzz0HOHTiVUS & B