25 Feb 2020
Bayer Animal Health hopes Neptra will innovate treatment of the ear condition and replicate the product’s success in the US.
Paul Imrie
Job TitleA single-dose treatment for canine otitis externa has been launched, putting vets in control of managing a condition affecting a fifth of all dogs seen in practice.
Neptra ear solution for dogs was introduced by Bayer Animal Health on 24 February after gaining European regulatory approval. The company hopes it will innovate treatment of otitis externa and replicate the product’s success in the US, where it leads the market – under the trade name Claro – with 4.7 million doses prescribed since 2007.
With many existing treatments for otitis externa relying on owner administration, Neptra involves a single 1ml dose for 28 days – the same for all breeds – administered by the vet.
Speaking to Veterinary Times for the European launch, World Association for Veterinary Dermatology president Ken Kwochka said treating otitis externa could be challenging for owners.
He said: “[Otitis externa] affects almost 20% of the general canine population. Not only is it common, but it tends to be recurrent, because it is generally associated with concurrent allergies.
“But the biggest challenge is compliance. The products we have had at our disposal up until now have generally been ointments, where an owner has to count drops to put in the ear canal, once or twice a day for 7 to 14 days or longer, and what ends up happening in most cases is it is difficult for owners to do that.
“So, we don’t get the complete treatment of an ear, or we get intermittent treatment of an ear, so we don’t get a clinical response, or we get a clinical response for a short period of time. Worst, because of intermittent use of an antibiotic we may get resistance developing.”
Neptra contains first-line established antibiotic florfenico to deal with the Staphylococcus pseudintermedius found in the majority of otitis externa cases.
It also contains terbinafine hydrochloride, highly effective against Malassezia pachydermatis, and lipophilic corticosteroid mometasone furoate to provide anti-inflammatory activity.
Dr Kwochka said S pseudintermedius and M pachydermatis accounted for “between 70% to 90%” of “day in, and day out” otitis externa cases.
He added: “The value of Neptra is it is a single dose, with 28-day duration of activity, and the owner does nothing. The vet has complete control because they clean the ear, they apply the medication in practice, the dog goes home with absolutely nothing for the owner to do.
“The study done for approval in the EU showed this product was effective in 87.4% of the dogs that were treated.”
Bayer senior brand manager Donna Tomlinson said: “It’s not every day you’re able to launch a solution that has the potential of Neptra to change treatment practices for the better and improve outcomes for dogs.”
