The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Mirataz, a new drug for managing unintentional weight loss in cats.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has approved a new drug for weight loss management in cats. The drug, Mirataz (mirtazapine transdermal ointment) could help what experts estimate is up to nine million cats a year that have unexpected weight loss for a myriad of underlying health conditions.
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Dr. Richard Chin is the President and CEO of Kindred Biosciences, Inc., and says that the development of this product in such a timely fashion (fewer than five years) shows the commitment their team has to help animals in therapy.
Mirataz is transdermal, and is the first and only to be specifically developed and FDA approved as such for cats. Veterinarians claim that weight loss is the number one reason cat parents bring their pets to the vet, and Mirataz is designed to help cats who experience weight loss to gain. It’s applied topically to a cat’s inner ear once a day, and is formulated with a proprietary Accusorb technology, formulated by Kindred Biosciences. According to Dr. Chin, the transdermal application will give better results compared to when orally given.
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Mirataz is classified as a weight gain drug for cats, and is indicated for cats who have weight loss because of underlying health conditions.
News of the new approval gave Kindred Biosciences a spike in the price of company shares and the company estimates commercial sales of the drug will begin in the summer of 2018.
