‘Do your research’: Pet owner warns others after linking cat’s death to new arthritis drug

ATLANTA — Some pet owners want a recall of a new arthritis drug for cats after their animals died, some in horrific ways, just days after taking it.

The drug is called Solensia. It’s supposed to turn back time for animals. Instead, some pet owners say the drug killed their cats.

Kelly Minnella is still mourning the loss of her cat, Stuart. He died after getting his third shot of Solensia in July.

“I said, ‘I’m so sorry, Stu.’ I, you know, I wouldn’t have done this if I knew,” Minnella said. “It breaks my heart when I think about it.”

But Minnella told Channel 2 investigative reporter Sophia Choi that she didn’t know because her vet never told her about any side effects.

“I blame the drug maker. I don’t blame my (vet), that they’re only being told what we’re being told,” Minnella said

Zoetis the maker of Solensia told us “We are deeply committed to listening to -- and working with -- veterinarians and pet owners, and we take very seriously our obligation to gather as much relevant information as possible when adverse events are reported to us.”

The FDA approved Solensia in January of 2022 after Zoetis tested the drug on 126 cats to see if it worked.

“People think, it’s approved, it must be safe. No, it’s approved. And we’re going to find out for sure if it’s safe after a few years,” said Joshua Sharlin a former FDA reviewer turned expert witness.

He said he would wait three to five years before giving his pet a new drug.

“A brand new drug for my dog. No,” Sharlin said.

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Zoetis does list some side effects with the drug’s information including vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy but not death.

Data Channel 2 Action News got through a Freedom of Information Act request showed the FDA got 333 reports of cat deaths linked to Solensia out of 3,882 adverse events reports between May 2023 and June 2024.

The FDA told Channel 2 Action News it is “monitoring the safety profile of this drug,” and if it “detects a safety issue with Solensia, it will provide new information.”

“They need to step up immediately and take this drug off the market,” Minnella said.

She said she linked Solensia to her cat’s death after seeing similar cases on Facebook.

That is also how Jan Johnson tied Solensia to her cat Honeyboy’s death.

“A lot of them were so, so similar. And I think what was shocking to me is some of these cats are so young,” Johnson said.

Honeyboy’s symptoms included lethargy and extreme weight loss.

“We suffer guilt, you know, because we made this decision. And I feel very bad about it,” said Johnson.

Zoetis told us 27 million doses of the drug have been given to cats and dogs and adverse events are rare saying, “We remain confident in the safety and effectiveness of Librela and Solensia.”

Minnella thinks the drug needs more research.

“Do not give this to your pet. That’s my first advice. And if you do decide to please do your research first,” Minnella said.

This is big money at stake for Zoetis.

The company predicts the dog and cat versions of this drug will bring in more than a billion dollars in three to five years.

The big takeaway is that just because it is approved, does not mean it is safe.

According to the FDA expert witness we talked to even human products are not really tested for safety until they are out on the market, and we start seeing problems.

FULL STATEMENT FROM FDA:

As a standard practice, the FDA monitors the safety of approved new animal drugs after approval, particularly in the first three years following approval, because widespread use of a drug product in a large number of patients may uncover adverse events not observed prior to approval. Animal drug sponsors (pharmaceutical companies) are required to report all cases of adverse events they receive from the public to the FDA.

The FDA is currently reviewing and assessing adverse event reports in dogs who received Librela and will provide further information when available. Numbers of adverse events alone do not necessarily provide a complete picture for several reasons. For example, the presence of a given report in CVM’s adverse event database does not mean that the product caused the event and CVM reviewers must assess the report(s) for potential causality. In addition, incidence rates cannot be determined using this data because the number of dogs given the product is not known. The FDA’s program policy and procedures manual for review and assessment of post-market adverse drug experience data can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/media/181019/download?attachment.

Solensia (frunevetmab injection) is a monoclonal antibody drug used for the control of pain associated with osteoarthritis in cats. It was approved by the FDA in January 2022. The FDA has been monitoring the safety profile of this drug as part of its standard practice and reviewing adverse drug event reports. If the FDA detects a safety issue with Solensia, it will provide any new information if it becomes available.

The FDA is not able to directly share information provided to the agency by a sponsor. We recommend that you contact the sponsor directly. You may also choose to file a FOIA request for this information, but it may be considered commercial confidential information.

Additional background:

Although the FDA carefully evaluates animal drugs before approval, there is the potential for new information to emerge after marketing, when the product is used in a much larger population and in settings different from the controlled studies required by the approval process. If FDA scientists detect a potential safety concern, they develop a plan of action that could include requesting that a drug sponsor make changes to the product’s labeling and working with the drug sponsor to provide more information to veterinarians and animal owners about how to use the product safely.

The FDA does not currently have the legal authority to require safety-related labeling changes for animal drugs. If the sponsor submits labeling revisions to the FDA and they are approved by the Agency, the changes will be publicly announced and posted on the FDA’s animal drug safety-related labeling changes page here: Animal Drug Safety-Related Labeling Changes | FDA.

FULL STATEMENT FROM ZOETIS:

We remain confident in the safety and effectiveness of Librela and Solensia for controlling osteoarthritis pain in dogs and cats, when used according to the label, and in the science, safety and regulatory rigor behind these products.

Since launching in Europe over three years ago, Librela and Solensia have been used effectively with millions of dogs and cats suffering from osteoarthritis pain. With more than 27 million doses distributed globally, no single sign reported in an adverse event is classified as more than rare, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) categorization.

We understand that when your dog or cat experiences an adverse event, these statistics are a small consolation. We are deeply committed to listening to – and working with – veterinarians and pet owners, and we take very seriously our obligation to gather as much relevant information as possible when potential adverse events are reported to us. We do this so we can ensure the ongoing safety of our products and so that we can report these events to the appropriate regulatory agency.

The significant majority of the feedback we have received from vets and pet owners continues to be positive.

Veterinarians are the best source of guidance and information for pet owners, and we continue to recommend that pet owners speak to their vets about any questions or concerns they may have.

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We also wanted to share the following background information in response to your questions.

Safety and Efficacy

Librela has been approved in more than 50 countries around the world via the extremely robust and rigorous processes of global agencies including the U.S. FDA, Health Canada and the EMA in Europe.

We work with global regulatory authorities to ensure our clinical studies have statistical significance. In two clinical studies conducted in the U.S. and the E.U., with a total of 559 dogs, Librela was shown to reduce canine OA pain, which can improve overall quality of life. Meanwhile, two clinical field studies in the U.S. and the E.U. showed that adverse events for the 273 Librela-treated dogs were similar to what would be expected for this population of dogs with OA. The most common adverse events reported in a clinical study were urinary tract infections, bacterial skin infections and dermatitis.

Before Librela, NSAIDs were the only approved medications to control osteoarthritis pain in dogs, but many dogs could not tolerate them due to pre-existing conditions. A recent head-to-head study underscored Librela’s established profile, demonstrating safety, efficacy, and fewer adverse events in the study compared to the NSAID meloxicam. (Innes, JF, et al., ESVOT 2024, Abstract) Veterinarians should rely on product labels when making clinical decisions.

In this study, the Librela-treated group had fewer adverse events as compared to the meloxicam-treated group (4 events vs 17). Adverse events do not indicate causality.

These factors continue to establish Librela as a transformative therapy for osteoarthritis (OA) pain in dogs.

Working with Regulatory Authorities

We are in regular contact with, and collaborate with regulatory agencies worldwide to ensure the ongoing safety, efficacy and quality of our products.

Label changes across pharmaceuticals are common, particularly in the first few years after a launch. Through the course of our routine interactions with regulatory agencies, we have updated the label for Librela in Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, Switzerland and the UK, where Librela was approved and launched before the U.S. The FDA is constantly reviewing products across the industry as part of post-marketing review, and we have ongoing conversations with them to discuss data related to our products.

Resources for Veterinarians

Veterinarians play a critical role in both caring for pets in pain and educating pet owners about the options that are right for their pet’s needs. We provide veterinarians with many resources, including timely data, research and access to leading external and internal experts in the field of osteoarthritis. We share clear details on benefits and risks, based on the regulatory labels, through webinars, meetings and literature that they can use with their staff and pet owners.

We assign field veterinarians to local regions across the markets in which we operate to provide coaching and support. In any given year, we host over 1,000 medical education webinars for veterinarians to support their knowledge and understanding of how to use our products.

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