One of the most important outcomes of the tens of billions of dollars spent each year on medical research is the generation of new therapies. As shown above, more than 170 therapeutics were approved for use in humans, but the productivity in terms of new therapies for pets is much lower. However, since much of the science and biology is shared, with the appropriate level of focus, skill and investment, Aratana believes more breakthroughs can be translated to benefit our pets. Hence, it is Zoobiquity applied to drug development.
For example, Aratana is currently investigating Nocita* (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) for single-dose infiltration into the surgical site to provide local post-operative analgesia for surgery in dogs. The product candidate previously received FDA approval for use in humans in 2011 as a local anesthetic to relieve pain after surgical procedures. Aratana has completed pivotal studies with dogs and has started the phased submission process for FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine approval.
We are also making progress with investigational candidates that have not been approved in humans and are being studied on a parallel pathway as the compound in humans. Several of our product candidates, including Galliprant* (for pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs.), AT-016* (allogeneic stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis in dogs) and AT-014* (vaccine for osteosarcoma in dogs), will inform decisions being made for the human candidates and could be available for dogs before the compound receives FDA approval in humans.
*Please note that as of January 13, 2016, these product candidates have not been approved by the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine or licensed by the USDA.
“We believe it’s important for animal health and human pharmaceutical companies to make strategic partnerships and advance science for multiple species at once,” explains Dr. St. Peter. “The idea of a conscious and very deliberative collaboration has the potential to bring therapeutics to dogs and cats much quicker.”
“We know there are many advocates who would endorse the opportunity to potentially bring a therapeutic to multiple species urgently, including the many veterinarians who work in the human pharmaceutical industry and are responsible for running pre-clinical studies,” states Dr. St. Peter.
“We believe Aratana plays a role in making sure human pharmaceutical companies are thinking about pets. Just as companies think about access to their medicines outside the country, we think they should also think about access for other members of the family. This is where we could really unlock the value of therapeutic advances across all species.”
Aratana has several licensing agreements with human pharmaceutical companies – Pfizer, Advaxis, Atopix Therapeutics, RaQualia Pharma and Pacira Pharmaceuticals to name a few – however, these collaborations and commitments tend to be outliers when looking at the industry overall. Many companies haven’t yet thought about the role they want to play.
How do we redefine medical boundaries?
There’s no doubt our dogs and cats are very important parts of our lives. The quest to extend and improve quality of life for our pets is important to Aratana because we believe pets are family and family merits the best care.
“In my experience as a human doctor, I routinely asked about pets, because it was interesting to see if my patients had a strong bond with an animal,” recalls Dr. St. Peter. “I found you can motivate people to walk their pets when you couldn’t motivate them to take a walk by themselves. Thus, the human bond with pets, by proxy, makes pet owners more aware of their own health.”
Dr. St. Peter shares his Zoobiquity “a-ha” moment at NAVC 2016.
Many veterinarians and medical doctors, just like Drs. Heinen and St. Peter, have made very similar human-animal connections themselves. On January 18, 2016, at the largest annual gathering of veterinarians, Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers uncovered many more links between the species. The pair of authors behind New York Times bestseller Zoobiquity were the keynote presentation at the North American Veterinary Community Conference (NAVC) in Orlando, which was attended by nearly 3,500 veterinarians and industry experts!