FDA Approves First Cancer Drug Specifically for Dogs

The FDA announced today that it has approved the first cancer drug specifically to be used for dogs. The drug is called Palladia and is manufactured by Pfizer. The drug is used to treat skin based mast tumors. This type of tumor accounts for 20% of all skin based cancers in dogs. While many mast tumors can appear to be small and benign, they can be a deadly form of cancer in dogs. Some mast tumors can be removed very easily, but some cannot and can cause serious problems. Palladia works in two ways to attack mast tumors: it cuts off the blood supply to the tumor and it kills the tumor.

Until the development and approval of Palladia, all cancer drugs used in veterinary medicine were developed for use in humans and were used in an “extra-label” manner to treat cancer in dogs. When asked for her reaction to the approval of Palladia, DVM and PhD Bernadette Dunham said, “This cancer drug approval for dogs is an important step forward for veterinary medicine. Prior to this approval, veterinarians had to rely on human oncology drugs, without knowledge of how safe or effective they would be for dogs. Today’s approval offers dog owners, in consultation with their veterinarian, an option for treatment of their dog’s cancer.” Some common side effects of Palladia are diarrhea, decrease in or loss of appetite, lameness, weight loss, and blood in the stool.

For more information on Palladia, see the approval summary at:
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/Products/ApprovedAnimalDrugProducts/FOIADrugSummaries/UCM164091.pdf

See the news article on the FDA website at:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm164118.htm