Librela FAQ

Librela must be prescribed and administered by your vet professional. Talk to your vet about getting your dog started on Librela.

Librela is given once a month. When you begin treatments with Librela, you should be able to schedule regular monthly visits with your vet for future doses.

Yes. Librela is approved as safe for dogs, but a conversation with your vet is the best way to confirm that Librela is right for your dog. For example, Librela should not be used in dogs with a sensitivity to the active ingredient, bedinvetmab. Librela also shouldn't be used in dogs who are pregnant, breeding, or lactating. The most common side effects that occurred in a clinical study were urinary tract infections, bacterial skin infections and dermatitis.¹

After the approval of Librela, additional side effects were reported. Not all side effects are reported to FDA/CVM. It is not always possible to reliably estimate side effect frequency or establish a causal relationship to product exposure and these additional side effects. Additional side effects in dogs reported are:

• Neurological: ataxia, seizures, paresis, proprioception deficits, paralysis
• General: anorexia, lethargy, recumbency
• Urinary: polydipsia, polyuria/pollakiuria, urinary incontinence
• Gastrointestinal: vomiting, diarrhea
• Musculoskeletal: muscle weakness, muscle tremors, lameness

In some cases, death (including euthanasia) has been reported as an outcome of the side effects listed above. Always have a conversation with a veterinarian to consider the risks and benefits of adding any treatment.

Although the effects of Librela may not be seen until after the second dose, some dogs may show a decrease in the signs of pain as soon as seven days after the first dose.¹ With once-monthly injections, Librela provides long-lasting control of OA pain.^1-3

Librela is the first and only anti-NGF monoclonal antibody for the control of OA pain in dogs.¹ Librela is administered in the clinic as a once-monthly injection and was approved as safe and effective in clinical studies. Librela is an alternative treatment option to daily oral medications. Your veterinarian can determine if Librela is right for your dog.

Librela is the first and only FDA-approved monthly injectable monoclonal antibody treatment to control OA pain in dogs. Dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds can experience OA pain.⁴ Signs of OA pain may be easier to detect in older dogs because they often are more advanced, but the pain can start at a much younger age. Dogs, even as young as 1 year old, can develop the condition. The safety and effectiveness of Librela has not been evaluated in dogs less than 12 months of age.

In fact, approximately 40% of dogs show signs of OA.⁵ Yet, despite its prevalence, only 33% of dogs with OA are diagnosed and treated for the condition.⁶ It's important to identify the signs and symptoms of OA pain early to control the pain and give our dogs a better quality of life. Since OA pain can affect dogs of all ages, talk to your veterinarian to see if Librela is right for your dog.

While limping and whimpering are obvious signs of OA pain, they’re not the only symptoms. Pet owners should also be on the lookout for the following signs of OA pain, including:

• Decreased activity
• Lagging behind on walks
• Slowness to rise
• Hesitation or difficulty in jumping up or down
• Stiffness
• Difficulty going up or down stairs
• Emotional changes, such as becoming more withdrawn or less happy and excited, or even showing signs of aggression or irritated behavior

Pay attention to your dog’s physical and emotional behaviors and share any changes with your veterinarian to help determine if these are signs of OA pain and how they can be managed. Consider recording videos of your dog, too, to help your veterinarian understand the changes you are observing. Waiting until the condition becomes severe can increase the amount of pain and decrease mobility, negatively impacting a dog’s physical and emotional well-being.⁷ While OA cannot be cured, the control of pain can be provided for the chronic pain associated with OA.

Each country has different regulatory guidelines and expectations for labeling. We work with the regulatory agency in each country to get our products reviewed and approved according to each country’s guidelines.

At Zoetis, we take suspected adverse events very seriously for all of our products, including Librela. Our team of veterinary experts work alongside both pet owners and their attending veterinarians to understand each pet’s unique situation when brought to our attention. We know that all pets have different lifestyles, health conditions, genetics etc., and understanding all of these elements is important to evaluating a pet’s full health profile.

Zoetis also has systems in place to continuously monitor the volume and trends of adverse event reporting related to all of our veterinary medicines, including Librela. We are required to share these reports of aggregated case data to regulatory agencies around the world, and if a new safety signal emerges, we partner with regulatory authorities on appropriate actions which could include amendment of our label as necessary to better inform veterinarians and pet owners of potential risks or safety concerns to mitigate risks to the pet.

We encourage all pet owners who believe their pet may have had an adverse reaction to any medication to contact their pet’s veterinarian first. Pet owners also need to contact Zoetis, and when they do, we document the conversation and make every effort to include the attending veterinarian in the conversation. This helps us fully understand each case and report a potential adverse effect to the appropriate regulatory body. We always encourage pet owners to also speak with their veterinarian for further consultation and advice after speaking with the Zoetis team.