NRC guidelines open door for durable canine OA pain relief

With a single intra-articular injection of Synovetin OA, dogs with elbow arthritis may remain pain-free for up to a year.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently issued licensing guidelines for the use of Synovetin OA (Exubrion Therapeutics), a new veterinary device administered via intra-articular injection that is intended to reduce synovitis and associated pain in dogs with elbow osteoarthritis (OA). The NRC guidelines, issued to all relevant regulatory agencies, establish a protocol for veterinary practices that want to offer this treatment for their patients.

Nearly 25% of dogs in the US have OA, with most current treatments requiring daily administration and providing short-term relief. “For dogs with chronic elbow pain, Synovetin OA is a new, convenient, long-lasting, and safe option,” says Exubrion Chief Veterinary Officer John Donecker, VMD, MS, in a press release. “Synovetin OA puts the treatment right where it’s needed and offers up to a full year of relief.”

The active agent in Synovetin OA is the conversion electron radiotherapeutic Tin-117m. According to the product website, Synovetin OA breaks the pain cycle in a single treatment by targeting and eliminating (or deactivating) pro-inflammatory macrophages and synoviocytes, the key drivers of pain and inflammation. Synovetin OA is administered in a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure and can provide up to a year of improved mobility and pain relief.

Safety and efficacy of Synovetin OA were demonstrated in 3 multicenter studies, showing a 92% treatment success rate in dogs with grade 1 and 2 elbow OA and a 71.4% success rate in dogs with grade 3 elbow OA. Pet owners and veterinarians reported up to 12 months of sustained effectiveness following a single injection, with no clinically significant systemic or local side effects observed.

“This procedure is commonly and safely performed in people,” explains Exubrion CEO Peter Selover in the release. “With the recent NRC guidelines, we expect to have at least 50 veterinary hospitals around the country licensed to use Synovetin in the first half of 2021, offering relief to pets whose pain may not be adequately managed by current therapies, and pet owners who think surgery may be their only option to relieve their dog’s pain.”

For more information, including the Synovetin OA package insert with instructions for use, visit synovetin.com.