Piedmont Pharmaceuticals Lands FDA Approval for Animal Health Medication

Greensboro-based Piedmont Animal Health has received Food and Drug Administration for its Advantus soft chew, a flavored chewable flea medication for dogs.

It’s the second product from Piedmont Animal Health, which is part of Piedmont Phamaceuticals, to receive FDA approval and the first to be approved as a new animal drug application.

The oral medication uses Piedmont’s patented soft chew technology that can make the medication more palatable to dogs and more convenient for dog owners. Its active ingredient is imidacloprid, an insecticide that acts as an insect neurotoxin.

“From start to finish, this product was developed on a rapid timeline, thanks to our talented and experienced team of professionals,” said Roland Johnson, founder and CEO of Piedmont Pharmaceuticals.

Johnson said that Piedmont Animal Health has more than 20 additional products in various stages of development and that he expects “a steady stream” of FDA approvals for new products.

In 2013, the company received FDA approval for for Quellin, an anti-inflammatory soft chew that uses carprofen to relive pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs.

The company plans to commercialize more than 10 of its pipeline products, and it holds licensing agreements for other products with multiple global animal health pharmaceutical companies. Executives anticipate hitting $175 million in annual revenue for those portfolio products by the end of 2020.

“With a pipeline this rich, I fully anticipate that Piedmont will be among the top seven companion animal veterinary pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. in just over five years,” Johnson said.

Piedmont Pharma in July brought on animal health industry veteran Dennis Steadman, who held senior positions with multinationals such as Merial and Merck, as its chairman.

Source: Triad Business Journal