New pet drug looks more like human drug | Wilnesh News

If you want to understand how different the human and animal medicine and vaccine industries have been historically, you don’t need to look far beyond weight loss drugs.

In terms of human nature, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company Since launching Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, the company has struggled to meet demand for these diabetes and weight loss treatments, respectively, as their popularity surges in 2023.Other pharmaceutical manufacturers, e.g. Pfizer and AstraZenecahave outlined their strategy to enter a market that could be worth tens of billions of dollars over the next decade, as smaller pharmaceutical companies try to grab share in one of the hottest areas in healthcare.

In contrast, the first drug designed to combat obesity in dogs was eventually withdrawn from the market in 2014 due to lack of interest.

“I think I have the only dog, and I’m going to make myself sound terrible when I explain why,” said Zoetis Executive Kristin Peck was named CEO for 2020 and was named to the inaugural CNBC Changemakers list on Wednesday. “I don’t think a lot of people want to put their dogs on diet pills because if your dog is overweight, you have to accept that the reason may be that you’re not walking it and feeding it too much.”

As the saying goes, dogs and other pets have long been considered man’s best friend. But pet medicines don’t always match up, and aside from necessary veterinary visits, tick collars or flea collars are often the only preventative medications many pets see.

But Peck said she’s seen a shift in the mindset of pet owners, as well as a shift in the pharmaceutical pipeline, that brings animal medicine more in line with human medicine.

“The new generation views pets very differently than previous generations,” Peck said. “Fifty or sixty years ago, your dog was in the backyard; now it has moved into your house, often your bed, and sometimes takes the place of your children—your dog or cat has a stroller, a backpack and A suit of clothes.”

When Pfizer spun off its animal health business to create Zoetis in 2013, about 65% of the company’s business was livestock-related. That has now changed, with 64% of the company’s revenue coming from products for companion animals such as cats and dogs.

Peck has maintained the company’s emphasis on innovation and developed products in pet categories that did not exist before.

For example, the company generated more than $1.3 billion in revenue from dermatology-related dog and cat drugs in 2022, compared with less than $1 million in revenue from this category in 2013. The company’s top product in the category is Apoquel, a product designed to treat dogs suffering from allergic itch and dermatitis.

“When we say we’re going to do dermatology, (the response) is that dogs don’t need dermatology, if they’re itchy, they’ll take some diphenhydramine,” Peck said. “But we said we thought we could create a market that’s now over $1.3 billion in dermatology sales. If I told you that was even remotely possible five or six years ago, you’d say that’s crazy.”

Peck praised Pfizer’s spinoff for allowing Zoetis to better balance the company’s goals in animal health and human health. “We only have one customer, and every dollar we spend every day is focused on that, whether it’s for R&D, commercial or manufacturing,” she said.

That approach led to the next product Zoetis and Peck are betting will become a $1 billion franchise: a treatment for osteoarthritis pain in dogs and cats.

In May this year, the FDA approved Librela, a monoclonal antibody treatment that can long-term control OA pain symptoms in dogs and improve their mobility and overall quality of life. According to Zoetis, 40 percent of dogs show signs of osteoarthritis, which can make them have trouble walking up and down stairs, be hesitant to jump, limp after exercise and become more withdrawn.

The approval of a similar product for cats marks the first time monoclonal antibody therapies, which are increasingly popular in treating the human disease, have been used to treat osteoarthritis pain in pets.

“You can’t make monoclonal antibodies for dogs in a human medical setting, so you have to be willing to invest money during a clinical trial, which is a bold, large-scale capital decision,” Peck said. “We’ve shown that if you Find a valuable product and pet owners will pay.”

Peck said that while Zoetis is focused on bridging the gap between human and animal health products, the company is also working on addressing some unique differences, such as diagnostic processes.

“People with osteoarthritis go to the doctor and get medication so they can live healthier, longer and have a better quality of life,” Peck said. “But if my hip is killing me “But no one knows because I don’t have a limp, which is like assuming your dog doesn’t have osteoarthritis because he doesn’t have a limp.”

In June 2022, Zoetis spent more than $50 million to acquire pet care genetics company Basepaws, which provides DNA testing for dogs and cats and focuses on early detection of health and disease risks.

“By looking at genetics and biomarkers for diagnosis, you’re going to be able to extend lifespan,” Peck said. “We’re going to be able to do better predictions, and that’s going to be a huge improvement for people who can’t talk, who can’t tell you that they’re feeling something. The quality of life of an animal of things.”

Artificial intelligence is helping here too. Because many owners have trouble taking their cats to the vet, and cats often receive less medical care than dogs, Peck said, Zoetis invested in artificial intelligence technology that allows cat owners to record their cats’ movements, upload those videos and conduct Artificial intelligence analysis checks whether the cat suffers from any osteoarthritis issues.

Peck said Zoetis will continue to focus on innovative approaches to animal health, replacing some of the cohort in human health, while also forging its own path to address the unique challenges that come with caring for cats and dogs.

Unlike in 2014, is Ozempic now available for dogs and cats?

Peck said that while the company continues to explore GLP-1 to treat diabetes in pets, weight loss is not a current focus area. Challenges related to cardiology, oncology, and kidney disease are a top priority.

“We recognize the success of this class of drugs in human health. When it comes to treating pet obesity, our work on genetic markers could provide more targeted opportunities for effective treatments in pets and provide solutions that pet owners value. program,” she said. “Many of the same techniques apply to humans and animals. And from animals to humans.”