UPDATE: Mirataz Now Commercially Available to US Veterinarians

Mirataz, an FDA-approved transdermal ointment for the management of weight loss in cats, is now available for purchase to veterinarians in the United States.

Kindred Biosciences, the developer of the new mirtazapine transdermal ointment, is now recognized as a commercial entity as their new product goes on sale.

"As our first approved product, Mirataz confirms our strategy of quickly and cost-efficiently developing animal health therapeutics,” Denise Bevers, co-founder and chief operating officer of KindredBio, said. “Furthermore, the speed with which our team brought this product to market following FDA-approval illustrates the caliber of talent within our commercial, operations, and supply-chain teams."

To order Mirataz, veterinarians can contact their animal health distributor or KindredBio at 1-888-608-2542.

(May 11) — Mirataz, a transdermal ointment for the management of weight loss in cats, has recently been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Developed by California-based Kindred Biosciences, this new ointment contains mirtazapine—a tetracyclic compound originally developed as an antidepressant for humans. Research on the use of mirtazapine in cats discovered its benefit as an appetite stimulant for felines experiencing unintended weight loss.

According to market research conducted by KindredBio, US veterinarians see as many as 9 million cats each year with unintended weight loss due to various conditions—making weight loss a leading cause of feline veterinary visits.

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“This is the first and only drug approved by the FDA for this very serious condition,” KindredBio CEO Richard Chin said. “Not only that but it is the first transdermal drug for cats approved by the FDA ever.”

Mirataz is formulated with KindredBio’s proprietary Accusorb technology and applied to the cat’s inner ear once per day for 14 days. Full prescribing information can be found on the KindredBio website.

“We’ve taken a validated drug, mirtazapine, applied cutting-edge technology to make it suitable for companion animals—advanced transdermal technology—developed it quickly and efficiently in less than 5 years at a cost of less than $5 million dollars,” Chin said, “and will address a serious and pervasive medical need.”

FDA approval has given Kindred Biosciences the green light to reach out to corporate accounts, specialty hospitals, and other key accounts for preorders. They company intends to ship product in approximately 2 to 3 months once the packaging has been updated based on the final FDA-approved label.