TheraKine and the Veterinary Pharmaceutical Market
In recent years, the veterinary pharmaceutical market has begun expanding rapidly, particularly in the treatments of companion pets (cats, dogs and horses). Traditionally, veterinary therapeutics were limited to less sophisticated over-the-counter medications. For more severe disease, the most common procedure was to simply let nature take its course.
The past decade has seen a wider variety of optimal, human quality treatments developed, along with a growing biologic veterinary therapeutics market. It is estimated that, of the $40 billion dollars spent in the US pet industry annually, roughly 25% is now spent on medication. The demographic data is also compelling: in the US alone, over 71 million households have a companion pet (roughly 74 million dogs and 91 million cats).
This growth in the market has been driven by pharmaceutical companies, most of whom now have separate, well-organized divisions devoted to developing and promoting the use of advanced veterinary medications. These treatments are often transferred from the human side of medicine and reformulated for the weights and sizes of animals. The medications will have already been trialed and tested through various governing bodies for human use and expectations of results are well documented, leading to a simpler path to efficacy.
TheraKine plans to make both its delivery system and pipeline therapeutics available to the veterinary market. With certain inflammatory and diabetic eye diseases common in companion animals, there is a large market need that, despite the focus of many pharmaceutical companies, is not yet being met. EpiKine™ has already completed successful pre-clinical studies in rabbits, while OptiKine™ demonstrated no increased infection or intraocular pressure in a safety and tolerability study done on canines with pre-existing uveitis. Studies such as these help accumulate important information on therapies, which is vital in the build up to human trials, and may also prevent countless companion animals from losing their vision.