The Food and Drug Administration has approved Zenrelia, a once-daily oral JAK inhibitor for managing pruritus associated with canine allergic and atopic dermatitis.
According to the manufacturer, Elanco Animal Health, Zenrelia (ilunocitinib tablets) blocks the pathways involved in allergic pruritus to break the itch-scratch cycle and minimize the risk of rebound itch.
“Zenrelia’s once-daily dosing is more convenient and will be affordable for pet owners with the launch list price about 20% less for nearly all dogs compared to the current JAK inhibitor,” said Bobby Modi, Elanco’s executive vice president of U.S. Pet Health and Global Digital Transformation.
A randomized, double-blinded noninferiority study compared Zenrelia and Apoquel, the competing JAK inhibitor from Zoetis. According to Elanco, the findings included:
- Zenrelia consistently provided greater relief from itching and skin lesions with once-daily dosing from the start of treatment. In contrast, dogs treated with Apoquel showed rebound itching when the dosing was reduced to once daily after Day 14.
- Owners and veterinarians noticed a different treatment response, consistently rating Zenrelia higher than Apoquel for overall effectiveness from Day 28 to Day 112.
- The adverse event profiles were comparable among the Zenrelia and Apoquel groups.
“Pet owners will appreciate greater savings in the first 14 days for Zenrelia, given its single versus twice-daily dosing,” Modi said.
According to Elanco, multiple toxicity and clinical safety studies demonstrated Zenrelia’s safety.
“We recognize that veterinarians need clinically relevant data to guide treatment choices and plan to pursue additional studies to evaluate vaccine response in Zenrelia-treated dogs,” Modi said.
Veterinarians may prescribe the drug to dogs at least 12 months old.