Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Webster who wrote (20806)	1/5/1999 9:46:00 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

(wacko) O.T. - psychiatric pharmaceuticals for dogs ! January 5, 1999 When It Looks Like a Dog's Life, Novartis May Help With a Canine Antidepressant By ELYSE TANOUYE Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL There are no bad dogs, just sad ones. That may be the new diagnosis pet owners will get when they bring their neurotic dogs to see veterinarians, who will soon be able to prescribe an antidepressant for old Fido. Novartis AG's U.S. animal-health unit received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval late last month to sell a meat-flavored antidepressant pill for dogs suffering from "separation anxiety." It's one of a number of drugs companies are developing to treat behavioral problems in pets. The drug, dubbed Clomicalm in its veterinary-use form, is an old antidepressant called Anafranil, which has long been used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans. Veterinarians have prescribed the human drug for dogs, but by conducting clinical trials and receiving FDA approval, Switzerland's Novartis can now directly promote the drug to veterinarians and pet owners for use in dogs. The drug is approved specifically for separation anxiety-behavior problems such as destroying furniture, howling or inappropriate elimination that can appear when the owner is away. Novartis says 14% of dogs -- about seven million pets in the U.S. -- exhibit one or more signs of separation anxiety. "Some owners think the pet is doing that out of spite, but they're really suffering, experiencing a lot of anxiety" when the owner leaves, says G.C. Ritchie, Clomicalm's product manager. The company plans a big marketing campaign aimed at convincing pet owners to take their errant dogs in to see the vet. A multimillion dollar consumer radio and print advertising campaign will begin in February, with ads in such magazines as Parade, Reader's Digest, and People. The advertising will stress to pet owners that their dogs are suffering and need to see a veterinarian. One ad will show a forlorn-looking dog with the phrase, "Some dogs just hate to be alone." The ads will emphasize that Clomicalm won't alter a dog's personality but could help it learn new, more positive forms of behavior. The company also plans an extensive promotional campaign to veterinarians, including a big splash this weekend at a veterinary convention in Orlando, Fla. In addition, the vets will receive materials in the mail, and receive training at dinner meetings, says Alice Coram, a Novartis animal-health unit communications manager. Veterinarians will sell the medication directly. The drug's cost is relatively high -- $1 a day for the minimum treatment length of two to three months. But, said Ms. Coram, "When you consider the problems some dogs can cause and the suffering they go through ... we don't see [the cost] as a hurdle at all." She added that some pet-behavior specialists have reported that their clients sometimes have thousands of dollars in damage caused by anxious dogs. Stephen F. Sundlof, the FDA head of veterinary medicines, said that behavioral problems are particularly frustrating for owners, but "veterinarians haven't had a lot of the tools that their human counterparts have had to address these very complex issues, so having products like this available gives vets a lot better chance of getting desirable results." He noted that the drug is supposed to be taken along with behavioral therapy. In addition, the drug's labeling warns that Clomicalm shouldn't be used with certain other drugs, most of which have presented problems in humans. Will the doggie antidepressant be overused or abused, as some people believe occurs with humans? Novartis's Ms. Coram said, ''There's always concern in that area, but we feel like we're doing everything we can to make sure it's used properly.'' Copyright © 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.