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Spray a Drug into Your Dog's Mouth
Spray a Drug into Your Dog's Mouth
New technology is in the works that will allow you to
spray a liquid drug into your dog's mouth.
by Steve Johnson, staff
September 16, 2004
Trying to give a pill to your dog or cat is a tough task,
if your pet is unwiling to cooperate. Each owner seems to
have a special way of administering a pill, from hiding it
inside a weenie, to crushing it up into dog food, to jamming
it down their throats.
But quite often, dogs will spit it back out later on, or
simply refuse to eat.
A company in New Jersey, NovaDel Pharma, Inc., has developed
technology that will allow you to spray a liquid form of the
medication into a dog's mouth, thus being absorbed through
his tongue, gums, and cheek. The technology, referred to as
"lingual spray technology", not only makes it easier
to administer medication, but it also reduces the amount of
required medication because it bypasses the stomach, going
straight into the bloodstream. By going directly into the
bloodstream, it allows medications to take quicker effect.
NovaDel Pharma, Inc. announced yesterday that it has entered
into an agreement with another company, Velcera Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. of Langhorne, PA, to develop medicines for this new technology.
"In our years of experience and technology assessment, we
have yet to see a drug delivery platform as robust and versatile
as NovaDel's lingual spray technology," commented Velcera's
Chief Executive Officer Dennis Steadman, the former vice president
of North American Operations for Merial Ltd.
"Particularly in the pet market, which is our initial focus,"
he continued, "there is a definite unsatisfied need to ease
the physical and emotional discomfort of drug administration
by pet owners and to help improve compliance for better therapeutic
outcomes. We have an excellent team at Velcera and strong
financial backing. Now, with our NovaDel partnership we have
a strong proprietary position to offer better versions of
high value off- patent animal pharmaceuticals as well as look
at some newer molecules."
A trial conducted at an independent facility sponsored by
Velcera showed that NovaDel's delivery technology was well
accepted by cats and dogs and that it could represent a significant
leap forward in simplifying pet-owner administration of medicines.
For more information, visit NovaDel Pharma at: http://www.novadel.com/
and Velcera Pharmaceuticals at: http://www.velcera.com/
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