Dog acceptance of Apoquel chewable tablets for allergic skin disease

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The oral acceptance of oclacitinib maleate (Apoquel®) chewable tablets administered twice daily for 7 days at the labeled dose range of 0.4-0.6 mg/kg was evaluated in 121 dogs treated at ten general practice veterinary clinics in the United States. RESULTS: Dogs that were enrolled in the study were client-owned, ranged from 1 to 14 years of age, weighed 3.7 to 60.7 kg, and required twice daily treatment with Apoquel for allergic or atopic dermatitis for 7 days. One hundred and twenty-one (121) dogs with 1673 total dose administrations successfully completed the study and were included in the data summary. Out of a total number of 1673 administrations, 1533 (91.6%) were accepted voluntarily within 5 min, 134 (8%) were consumed with assistance (with food treats or by pilling) outside of the 5 min offering time and 6 (0.4%) doses were not consumed. The per dose percent acceptance rate for the 14 offered doses showed minimal variation ranging from 89.9 to 93.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Client-owned dogs from the general veterinary patient population that required treatment with oclacitinib found the chewable tablets to be very palatable and no aversion occurred with repeated dosing. Oclacitinib chewable tablets were well tolerated and are a palatable alternative to the film-coated tablet.