Acute pancreatitis in dogs: fuzapladib vs placebo — POSSIBLE

In dogs with acute-onset pancreatitis, does fuzapladib sodium improve clinical activity scores over the first 3 days vs placebo, on top of standard supportive care?

Shelf #165 · gate-verified and displayed under the developer's blinded-trial rule

POSSIBLE: In the first specific-drug trial for canine acute pancreatitis — a randomised, masked, placebo-controlled multicentre study — 3 days of fuzapladib on top of standard supportive care improved the modified clinical activity index (MCAI) score more than placebo by day 3 (mean change −7.75 vs −5.68, P = .02), in 35 evaluable dogs (Steiner 2023). Every secondary measure — severity index, pancreatic lipase, cytokines, C-reactive protein — showed no significant difference, the diagnosis was presumptive, and survival and hospitalisation were not studied, so the claim this shelf can carry is a modest improvement in a clinical score over 3 days, nothing harder. This is a single-trial shelf, stated on its face. Drafted Nov 10, 2026 (VetMed build, topic #165); all figures from abstracts fetched and verified at drafting.

Steiner 2023: fuzapladib improved the day-3 clinical activity score more than placebo (MCAI change −7.75 vs −5.68, P = .02) — all secondary measures null

Randomised, masked, placebo-controlled multicentre study

Who: Dogs: 61 client-owned dogs with presumptive acute-onset pancreatitis enrolled for safety assessment; 35 evaluable for clinical evaluation (16 fuzapladib, 19 placebo), given fuzapladib or placebo for 3 days alongside standard supportive care, in a randomised, masked, placebo-controlled multicentre study. Fuzapladib is a leukocyte function-associated antigen type-1 (LFA-1) activation inhibitor, blocking neutrophil adhesion and migration.

Result: Mean change in modified clinical activity index (MCAI) score from day 0 to day 3 was −7.75 in the fuzapladib group vs −5.68 on placebo (P = .02; 95% CI for the difference −4.33 to −0.35) — an additional improvement of about 2 points attributable to fuzapladib. No significant difference was found in any secondary variable: canine acute pancreatitis clinical severity index (CAPCSI) scores, serum canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity, cytokines, or C-reactive protein. Fuzapladib was well tolerated by all treated dogs. Effects on survival and duration of hospitalisation were not studied.

Watch out: A single trial, and the efficacy analysis covers 35 of the 61 enrolled dogs; the positive endpoint is a clinical activity score while every biomarker and severity secondary was null, and cases were presumptive rather than confirmed pancreatitis. The authors' own wording is measured — a favourable response in clinical activity scores — and this card keeps it that way.

Steiner JM, Lainesse C, Noshiro Y et al. Fuzapladib in a randomized controlled multicenter masked study in dogs with presumptive acute onset pancreatitis. J Vet Intern Med. 2023;37(6):2084-2092. PMID: 37811705. Registry ID: none in the record. MeSH: Animals · Dogs · Acute Disease · C-Reactive Protein · Cytokines · Dog Diseases · Inflammation · Pancreatitis · Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Synthesis: the first pancreatitis-specific drug signal in dogs — a score improvement, not a survival claim

Synthesis

Who: Synthesis of the card above: Steiner 2023 (randomised, masked, placebo-controlled, multicentre; 61 dogs for safety, 35 evaluable for efficacy) — the only placebo-controlled trial of fuzapladib in canine acute pancreatitis found for this shelf.

Result: Until this trial, canine acute pancreatitis had no specific treatment and management rested entirely on supportive care. Fuzapladib adds a genuine, randomised, masked signal on top of that care: dogs' clinical activity scores improved faster over the first 3 days. But the effect is a ~2-point extra fall on one clinical score, with severity scores and every measured biomarker unmoved, in presumptive cases, over 3 days. Nothing here speaks to survival, complications, or length of hospitalisation — the outcomes owners ask about — and no second trial yet corroborates the first.

Watch out: Single-trial shelf by the charter's VetMed exception, stamped POSSIBLE rather than higher because the efficacy set is small (n = 35), the endpoint is a clinical score, and the secondary variables were uniformly null.

Synthesis of Steiner JM et al. PMID: 37811705. Registry ID as on the individual card.

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