Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease affecting 35% of dogs. As the disease is more common among older and heavier dogs, the aging dog population and the increasing number of over-weight or obese dogs give rise to number of OA cases. Although there is no cure for osteoarthritis, the associated pain and inflammation can be reduced by weight management, daily exercise and medical treatments. Meloxicam, a COX-2 inhibiting NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), is the most used drug in treatment of pain and inflammation related to osteoarthritis in dogs. Meloxicam is well tolerated, but keeping the pain and inflammation in bay by maintaining even and right level plasma concentration still present challenge as owners need to commit themselves to regular, daily oral administration of the drug to their pet who might oppose the administration.
ST14D is a controlled-release formulation of meloxicam utilizing silica-based drug delivery technology by DelSiTech Ltd. ST14D is subcutaneously injectable hydrogel depot with release time of 30 days that will free dog-owners from daily administration of oral meloxicam products. Instead of different tablet sizes for different size of dogs, ST14D will be available as one drug product as dosing of dogs of different weights can be easily achieved simply by adjusting the hydrogel injection volume.
ST14D is currently a back-list projects, and looking for funding for further studies. Results of the early PK studies of promising formulations are available by request.