FDA approves drug for carsick canines

updated 3:00 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2007

Dogs who get a little green under the fur while traveling gained the first drug Wednesday to prevent vomiting associated with motion sickness.

The Food and Drug Administration said the drug, Cerenia, is the first to prevent and treat vomiting in dogs. When used in tablet form, the Pfizer Inc. drug can prevent vomiting associated with motion sickness, the FDA said. The agency also approved an injectable form of the drug, known generically as maropitant citrate, that it said can prevent and treat acute vomiting due to chemotherapy, parvovirus, kidney disease, pancreatitis and other causes.

Severe vomiting can lead to dehydration and death in dogs, the FDA said.

Both versions of the New York company’s dog drug are available only by order of a veterinarian.

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