Could an obesity drug for overweight cats be on the way?

Felix, a 5-year-old cat living in Dallas [CNBC]

Felix, a 5-year-old cat in Dallas, loves to eat. His owner, Amy, tried cutting back on his food portions to help him lose weight, but it did not work. With two cats in the house, Felix would finish his own bowl and then move on to the other cat's — leaving every diet attempt in ruins.

Amy's concern is well-founded. Obesity shortens a cat's lifespan and strains its joints and heart. "I'd be really happy if a weight-loss drug for pets came out," she said.

That wish may soon become reality. Two American biotech companies have begun testing GLP-1 obesity treatments on overweight cats, extending the global weight-loss drug wave that has swept human medicine into the living room.

An 'Ozempic for cats'?

Ozempic and Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk [Reuters]

According to a CNBC report Monday, Axton Biosciences is co-sponsoring a clinical trial with Cornell University testing a once-weekly GLP-1 treatment on overweight and obese cats. The trial will follow about 70 cats over three months.

San Francisco-based Akava Pharmaceuticals has gone a step further, developing an implantable treatment that can sustain its effects for up to six months. The trial is called MEOW-1. A veterinarian inserts the device, which then releases the drug gradually.

Neither treatment has received approval yet, and there is no "Ozempic for cats" on the market. Both still need to demonstrate safety and efficacy, meaning it will be some time before veterinarians can prescribe them in practice.

Just how many overweight cats are there?

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 61 percent of cats and 59 percent of dogs examined in the United States in 2022 were found to be overweight or obese.

Feline obesity is particularly difficult to manage. Unlike dogs, cats cannot simply be walked more to burn off the extra weight, and many resist changes to their diet. Even getting a cat to take medication consistently is a challenge. It is little wonder, then, that a GLP-1 treatment requiring only a single injection or implant — rather than a daily pill — stands as an attractive alternative.

Axton CEO Todd Zion, announcing the clinical trial last November, called feline obesity "the most common yet undertreated health problem in veterinary medicine."

'Cost to owners could slow the rollout'

The Axton-sponsored trial at Cornell University will observe about 70 overweight or obese cats over roughly three months. Industry observers say the effort could shake up the US pet market, which has already grown to $200 billion.

Akava has also said that treating pet obesity represents one of the largest unmet medical needs in the sector, though it added it is too early to discuss a sales outlook.

Simeon Goodman, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, described the trend as one where pet owners are not abandoning premium food but expanding their spending from premiumization into medicalization.

Goodman cautioned against getting ahead of the data, however. He said the most overstated assumption would be that the pet obesity drug market will mirror the human GLP-1 market in adoption rates and price. Unlike with human medicine, most veterinary costs come directly out of pet owners' pockets, he noted, meaning the financial burden could slow the pace at which these treatments spread.

mokiya@heraldcorp.com