Transcript
Hello. I’m Avi Blake, a technical services veterinarian with American Regent Animal Health.
My colleagues and I talk a lot about how to best manage degenerative joint disease, which I’m going to refer to as DJD.
To achieve DJD treatment goals, it’s often necessary to use a combination of therapies to both manage the clinical signs and help slow disease progression. Today we’re going to talk about products that do one or the other—or both—as well as how FDA regulation comes into play.
As you know, NSAIDs and corticosteroids are FDA-approved drugs that relieve pain and inflammation. They provide important relief for horses suffering from DJD.
A different type of drug, polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, which we refer to as PSGAG, is a potent proteolytic enzyme inhibitor and it diminishes or reverses the pathologic processes of degenerative joint disease in horses.
As the only FDA-approved equine PSGAG, Adequan i.m. (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) has a mode of action that helps treat DJD in multiple ways.
In addition to reducing inflammation associated with DJD, it also restores synovial joint lubrication, repairs cartilage and reverses the disease process.
The synovial fluid is improved, protein levels are reduced, and hyaluronic acid concentrations are increased.
Adequan i.m. is an FDA-approved drug. The FDA regulates joint supplements differently than drugs, such as Adequan i.m., NSAIDs and corticosteroids. Joint supplements are not intended to treat or prevent a disease.
The FDA does not hold supplement manufacturers to the same strict pre-market approval requirements as drugs, and the FDA doesn’t allow supplements to claim they treat DJD. What’s more, the FDA does not require supplement manufacturers to practice pharmacovigilance or report adverse events.
That's why despite any misconceptions, supplements should not be considered equivalent to Adequan i.m. Also despite any misconceptions, medical devices are not generic equivalents to Adequan i.m. Medical devices are regulated by the FDA but differently than drugs.
Like I mentioned earlier, Adequan i.m. is an FDA-approved PSGAG. Administering it at the approved label dose (500 mg every four days for 28 days) helps achieve the improvement shown in scientific studies.
In a dose response study, after the first four Adequan i.m. injections at the approved label dose (500 mg), the average improvement was 19 percent. After completing the seven-dose series at the approved label dose, the average improvement was 71 percent for a total of over 50 percent improvement in maximum carpal flexion.
Administering the complete one, four, seven label-approved dosing helps ensure horses with DJD may benefit from Adequan i.m. both reducing inflammation and reversing the disease process.
For more on DJD and Adequan i.m., visit adequan.com. Thank you for tuning in. And we hope this information helps keep more horses moving.
INDICATIONS
Adequan® i.m. is recommended for the intramuscular treatment of non-infectious degenerative and/or traumatic joint dysfunction and associated lameness of the carpal and hock joints in horses.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
There are no known contraindications to the use of intramuscular Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG). Studies have not been conducted to establish safety in breeding horses. WARNING: Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Not for use in humans. Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children. CAUTION: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian. For additional safety information, please see full prescribing information at adequan.com.