1 ml contains: Active substance: Maropitant 10 mg

Excipients: Benzyl alcohol (E1519) 11.1 mg

Solution for injection. A clear, colourless to light yellow solution.

Dogs and cats.

Dogs: For the treatment and prevention of nausea induced by chemotherapy.

For the prevention of vomiting except that induced by motion sickness.

For the treatment of vomiting, in combination with other supportive measures.

For the prevention of perioperative nausea and vomiting and improvement in recovery from general anaesthesia after use of the μ-opiate receptor agonist morphine.

Cats: For the prevention of vomiting and the reduction of nausea, except that induced by motion sickness.

For the treatment of vomiting, in combination with other supportive measures.

Vomiting can be associated with serious, severely debilitating conditions including gastrointestinal obstructions; therefore, appropriate diagnostic evaluations should be employed.

Good veterinary practice indicates that antiemetics should be used in conjunction with other veterinary and supportive measures such as dietary control and fluid replacement therapy while addressing the underlying causes of the vomiting.

The use of the veterinary medicinal product against vomiting due to motion sickness is not recommended.

Dogs: Although maropitant has been demonstrated to be effective in both the treatment and prevention of emesis induced by chemotherapy, it was found more efficacious if used preventively. Therefore, it is recommended to administer the veterinary medicinal product prior to administration of the chemotherapeutic agent.

Cats: The efficacy of maropitant in reduction of nausea was demonstrated in studies using a model (xylazine-induced nausea).

The safety of maropitant has not been established in dogs less than 8 weeks of age, or in cats less than 16 weeks of age, and in pregnant or lactating dogs and cats. Use only according to the benefit/risk assessment by the responsible veterinarian.

Maropitant is metabolised in the liver and therefore should be used with caution in patients with hepatic disease. As maropitant is accumulated in the body during a 14 day treatment period due to metabolic saturation, careful monitoring of liver function and any adverse events should be implemented during long term treatment.

The veterinary medicinal product should be used with caution in animals suffering from or with predisposition for cardiac diseases as maropitant has affinity to Ca- and K-ion channels. Increases of approximately 10% in the QT interval of the ECG were observed in a study on healthy Beagle dogs administered 8 mg/kg orally; however, such an increase is unlikely to be of clinical significance.

Due to the frequent occurrence of transient pain during subcutaneous injection, appropriate animal restraining measures may have to be applied. Injecting the product at refrigerated temperature may reduce pain at injection.

People with known hypersensitivity to maropitant should administer the veterinary medicinal product with caution.

Wash hands after use. In case of accidental self-injection seek medical advice immediately and show the package leaflet or the label to the physician. In laboratory studies, maropitant has been shown to be a potential eye irritant. In the case of accidental eye exposure, flush the eyes with plenty of water and seek medical attention.

Target species: Dog, cat

a in cats - moderate to severe (in approximately one third of cats) when injected subcutaneously.

b in dogs - when injected subcutaneously.

Reporting adverse events is important. It allows continuous safety monitoring of a veterinary medicinal product.

Reports should be sent, preferably via a veterinarian, to either the marketing authorisation holder or the national competent authority via the national reporting system. See section `Contact details´ of the package leaflet.

Use only according to the benefit/risk assessment by the responsible veterinarian, because conclusive reproductive toxicity studies have not been conducted in any animal species.

The veterinary medicinal product should not be used concomitantly with Ca-channel antagonists as maropitant has affinity to Ca-channels.

Maropitant is highly bound to plasma proteins and may compete with other highly bound medicines.

For subcutaneous or intravenous use in dogs and cats.

The veterinary medicinal product solution for injection should be injected subcutaneously or intravenously, once daily, at a dose of 1 mg of maropitant/kg body weight (1 ml/10 kg body weight) for up to 5 consecutive days. Intravenous administration of the veterinary medicinal product should be given as a single bolus without mixing the product with any other fluids.

To prevent vomiting, the veterinary medicinal product solution for injection should be administered more than 1 hour in advance. The duration of effect is approximately 24 hours and therefore treatment can be given the night before administration of an agent that may cause emesis, e.g. chemotherapy.

As the pharmacokinetic variation is large and maropitant accumulates in the body after once daily repeated administration, lower doses than recommended might be sufficient in some individuals and when repeating the dose.

For administration by subcutaneous injection, see also Special precautions for use in animals.

Apart from transient reactions at the injection site following subcutaneous administration, maropitant was well tolerated in dogs and young cats injected daily with up to 5 mg/kg (5 times the recommended dose) for 15 consecutive days (3 times the recommended duration of administration). No data have been presented on overdoses in adult cats.

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Antiemetics

ATCvet code: QA04AD90

Vomiting is a complex process coordinated centrally by the emetic centre. This centre consists of several brainstem nuclei (area postrema, nucleus tractus solitarius, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve) that receive and integrate sensory stimuli from central and peripheral sources and chemical stimuli from the circulation and the cerebro-spinal fluid.

Maropitant is a neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist, which acts by inhibiting the binding of substance P, a neuropeptide of the tachykinin family. Substance P is found in significant concentrations in the nuclei comprising the emetic centre and is considered the key neurotransmitter involved in vomiting. By inhibiting the binding of substance P within the emetic centre, maropitant is effective against neural and humoral (central and peripheral) causes of vomiting.

A variety of in vitro assays have demonstrated that maropitant binds selectively at the NK1 receptor with dose-dependent functional antagonism of substance P activity.

Maropitant is effective against vomiting. The antiemetic efficacy of maropitant against central and peripheral emetics was demonstrated in experimental studies including apomorphine, cisplatin and syrup of ipecac (dogs) and xylazine (cats).

Signs of nausea in dogs including excessive salivation and lethargy might remain after treatment.

Dogs: The pharmacokinetic profile of maropitant when administered as a single subcutaneous dose of 1 mg/kg body weight to dogs was characterised by a maximum concentration (Cmax) in plasma of approximately 92 ng/ml; this was achieved within 0.75 hours post-dosing (Tmax). Peak concentrations were followed by a decline in systemic exposure with an apparent elimination half-life (t1/2) of 8.84 hours. Following a single intravenous dose at 1 mg/kg the initial plasma concentration was 363 ng/ml. The volume of distribution at steady-state (Vss) was 9.3 l/kg and systemic clearance was 1.5 l/h/kg. The elimination t1/2 following intravenous dosing was approximately 5.8 hours.

During clinical studies maropitant plasma levels conferred efficacy from 1 hour after administration.

The bioavailability of maropitant after subcutaneous administration in dogs was 90.7%. Maropitant displays linear kinetics when administered subcutaneously withing the 0.5-2 mg/kg dose range.

Following repeated subcutaneous administration of once-daily doses of 1 mg/kg body weight for five consecutive days, accumulation was 146%. Maropitant undergoes cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolism in the liver. CYP2D15 and CYP3A12 were identified as the canine isoforms involved in the hepatic biotransformation of maropitant.

Renal clearance is a minor route of elimination, with less than 1% of a 1 mg/kg subcutaneous dose appearing in the urine as either maropitant or its major metabolite. Plasma protein binding of maropitant in dogs is more than 99%.

Cats: The pharmacokinetic profile of maropitant when administered as a single subcutaneous dose of 1 mg/kg body weight to cats was characterised by a maximum concentration (Cmax) in plasma of approximately 165 ng/ml; this was achieved on average 0.32 hours (19 min) post -dosing (Tmax) . Peak concentrations were followed by a decline in systemic exposure with an apparent elimination half-life (t1/2) of 16.8 hours. Following a single intravenous dose at 1 mg/kg the initial plasma concentration was 1040 ng/ml. The volume of distribution at steady-state (Vss) was 2.3 l/kg and systemic clearance was 0.51 l/h/kg. The elimination t1/2 following intravenous dosing was approximately 4.9 hours. There appears to be an age-related effect on the pharmacokinetics of maropitant in cats with kittens having higher clearance than adults.

During clinical studies maropitant plasma levels conferred efficacy from 1 hour after administration.

The bioavailability of maropitant after subcutaneous administration in cats was 91.3%. Maropitant displays linear kinetics when administered subcutaneously within the 0.25-3 mg/kg dose range.

Following repeated subcutaneous administration of once-daily doses of 1 mg/kg body weight for five consecutive days, accumulation was 250%. Maropitant undergoes cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolim in the liver. CYP1A and CYP3A related enzymes were identified as the feline isoforms involved in the hepatic biotransformation of maropitant.

Renal and faecal clearances are minor routes of elimination for maropitant, with less than 1% of a 1 mg/kg subcutaneous dose appearing in the urine or faeces as maropitant. For the major metabolite 10.4% of the maropitant dose was recovered in urine and 9.3% in faeces. Plasma protein binding of maropitant in cats was estimated to be 99.1%.

In the absence of compatibility studies, this veterinary medicinal product must not be mixed with other veterinary medicinal products in the same syringe.

Shelf life of the veterinary medicinal product as packaged for sale: 3 years

Shelf life after first opening the immediate packaging: 56 days

Do not freeze.

Amber glass type I vial closed with a coated bromobutyl rubber stopper and aluminium cap in a cardboard box.

Pack sizes of 1 vial of 10 ml, 20 ml, 25 ml or 50 ml.

Not all pack sizes may be marketed.

Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater.

Any unused veterinary medicinal product or waste materials derived from such veterinary medicinal product should be disposed of in accordance with local requirements.

GB & NI: Dechra Regulatory BV, Handelsweg 25, 5531 AE Bladel, The Netherlands.

GB: Vm 50406/5002

NI: EU/2/17/211/002

19 June 2017

GB: November 2023

NI: October 2021

NI: Detailed information on this veterinary medicinal product is available on the website of the European Medicines Agency (http://www.ema.europa.eu/).

For animal treatment only. To be supplied only on veterinary prescription. Keep out of the sight and reach of children.