Cats with chronic kidney disease are prone to developing a secondary condition called nonregenerative anemia, a potentially fatal complication that keeps down the production of red blood cells needed to carry oxygen from the lungs to all the body’s tissues. It occurs because the compromised kidneys produce less of a hormone called erythropoietin, which helps the bone marrow produce red blood cells. But a new drug, Varenzin-CA1, treats the problem by increasing erythropoietin production.
Varenzin-CA1 has been granted what is called conditional approval. That means that the Food and Drug Administration has concluded the drug is safe for its intended purpose and has a reasonable expectation of being effective, allowing cats suffering from the disease to receive the treatment while full effectiveness data is collected.
