Chapter 29. New developments in animal healthcare

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the developments in animal healthcare. There has been a pronounced shift from the traditional focus on medication for food animals toward companion animals, generally considered to be dogs, cats, and horses. The treatment of inflammatory disorders in dogs and horses has been reviewed. Carprofen the market leader is a reversible COX2 selective inhibitor with a good safety profile in dogs. It is reported as showing selectivity for COX2 of either 129 fold (II) or 1.75-fold. Eltenac has been introduced as an injectable for the treatment of horses. It reportedly shows beneficial effects for up to 24 hours following a single injection and is safe in horses. An alternative to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors has been approved for veterinary use. Pimobendan is a positive inotropic agent that has been shown to be effective in treating dilated cardio myopathy in dogs. Marbofloxacin has been demonstrated to have good efficacy against a wide range of clinical isolates from cats and dogs, with MIC 90 's in the range 0.02–0.4 μg/ml.