FELINE ANTI-NERVE GROWTH FACTOR ANTIBODY IMPROVES MOBILITY IN CATS WITH DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE-ASSOCIATED PAIN

摘要

There is a critical need for proven drugs for treatment of degenerative joint disease (DJD) pain in cats. In the United States, there are no approved drugs for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain, and only a single NSAID is approved in other parts of the world. Additionally, there are concerns with the use of NSAIDs in cats because chronic kidney disease is so common. Neutralizing antibodies against Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) are analgesic in rodent models and in humans with chronic pain, although none are currently approved for use in humans. Using a proprietary technique for inter-species conversion of antibodies based on expressed cDNA sequence analysis (PETization ) Nexvet Biopharma developed a novel therapeutic fully-felinized anti-NGF mAb (named NV-02) for the alleviation of pain in cats. This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of a fully felinized anti-NGF antibody (NV-02) for the treatment of DJD pain and mobility impairment in cats.