米ＦＤＡ、猫の関節症治療用抗体医薬品を承認

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米食品医薬品局（ＦＤＡ）は１３日、猫の変形性関節症に伴う痛みを抑える治療薬を初めて承認した。モノクローナル抗体を使った医薬品が動物用に承認されたのも初めてとなる。（写真は猫）
　モノクローナル抗体は、新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）で、リスクの高いコロナ感染者の重症化を抑制するとして注目された。
　猫用に承認されたのは、「ソレンシア」という注射薬。痛みの発現に関与する神経成長因子（ＮＧＦ）と呼ばれるタンパク質と結び付くことで効果を発揮する。ソレンシアの有効成分「フルネベトマブ」がＮＧＦに結合すると、痛みの信号の脳への到達が阻害される。
　ＦＤＡ動物用医薬品センターのスティーブン・ソロモン所長は「獣医学の進歩により、猫を含む多くの動物の寿命が延びた」としながらも、「寿命が延びれば変形性関節症などの慢性疾患も起こる」と指摘した。
　変形性関節症は、骨の端でクッションの役割を果たしている軟骨が薄くなることで起こる。関節で骨同士がこすれ合うと、痛みを伴ったり関節の動きが悪くなったりするほか、軟骨が硬くなってとげのようになる「骨棘（こつきょく）」ができることもある。
　６歳以上の猫の６０％、１２歳以上では９０％が変形性関節症に罹患（りかん）しているとされる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/01/17-11:41）

Good news for senior felines hoping to get a spring back in their step.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved its first treatment to control pain associated with osteoarthritis in cats, which is also the first monoclonal antibody drug approved for any animal species.
These lab-grown proteins have grabbed headlines during the pandemic for preventing high-risk people with Covid from getting severely ill.
Not all monoclonal antibodies target pathogens however. Some that are approved for humans with cancer perform other functions, like tagging cancer cells so the immune system can recognize them better and fight them.
Solensia, the new injectable drug approved for cats, works by attaching itself to a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF) that is involved in the regulation of pain.
When frunevetmab, the active ingredient in Solensia, binds to NGF, it prevents the pain signal from reaching the brain.
Advancements in modern veterinary medicine have been instrumental in extending the lives of many animals, including cats, said Steven Solomon, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, in a statement.
But with longer lives come chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis, he added.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of bones wears thin. Eventually the bones in a joint rub against each other, causing pain and lessening joint movement, and at times leading to bone spurs.
The condition is thought to affect 60 percent of cats aged six years and up, and 90 percent of cats older than 12.
Because cats are not good at directly conveying their symptoms, researchers asked their owners about their animals' level of impairment doing activities like jumping onto furniture, using their litter box, or grooming, and compared their abilities to before they developed osteoarthritis.
The owners were then asked to assess their cats' response after receiving treatment.
Overall, the cats in the treatment group had better assessment scores than those who received placebos during randomized clinical trials.
Side effects of the drug, which is injected under the skin by a veterinarian once a month, included vomiting, diarrhea, injection site pain, scabbing on the head and neck, dermatitis and pruritus (itchy skin).
The effects were mild and didn't require stopping treatment. Zoetis, the drug's maker, said it should not be used in breeding cats or in those that are pregnant or lactating.
It also should not be taken by humans.
Zoetis declined to comment on its cost but said it would be priced competitively.