Market Emerges for Use of Human Drugs on Pets

Pfizer's Anipryl is designed to treat dogs with Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. A new market is emerging for the use of human psychoactive drugs on pets with behavioral problems. The first two such medications to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, both of them for dogs, became available early this year. Novartis Animal Health of Greensboro, N.C., now markets clomipramine hydrochloride, a tricyclic antidepressant used for obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans, under the

Written bySteve Bunk

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Pfizer's Anipryl is designed to treat dogs with Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome.

A new market is emerging for the use of human psychoactive drugs on pets with behavioral problems. The first two such medications to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, both of them for dogs, became available early this year.

Novartis Animal Health of Greensboro, N.C., now markets clomipramine hydrochloride, a tricyclic antidepressant used for obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans, under the brand name Clomicalm to treat canine separation anxiety. This condition is precipitated by absence of the pet's owner or attachment figure.

Pfizer Animal Health of Exton, Pa., markets selegiline hydrochloride, also known as L-deprenyl, under the brand name Anipryl to treat the Alzheimer's disease-like canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS). In humans, selegiline primarily treats symptoms of Parkinson's disease, particularly painful foot-cramping.

These two behavioral problems in dogs are among a number of pet-owner complaints that are receiving ...

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