Pharmacokinetics of orally administered single‐dose ponazuril in cats

Abstract

Cats and kittens in animal shelters and catteries regularly suffer from severe gastrointestinal coccidiosis, which can be fatal, and there are no drugs labeled for feline coccidiosis in the United States. Ponazuril, a triazine-class drug, is increasingly used at a dose of 50 mg/kg/d, orally, for three to five days in shelter environments for coccidiosis. A single oral dose of ponazuril paste 15% (Marquis ® ; Merial) at 50 mg/kg was administered to six healthy adult cats. Sample analysis was completed via highperformance liquid chromatography. Plasma concentrations peaked at 7.49 ± 2.06 µg/ ml at 14.67 ± 7.45 hr post-administration. This study shows that ponazuril achieved a plasma concentration that inhibits growth of similar organisms after a single oral dose in cats. Further studies are necessary to optimize dosing for the treatment of clinical coccidiosis in cats.

Pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and excretion of ponazuril in piglets

“…In llamas, the serum concentration of ponazuril peaked at 84 h after a single dose of 20 mg/kg bw, with a reported elimination T 1/2 of 135.5 h ( 25 ). After a single oral dose of ponazuril at 50 mg/kg in cats, the C max in plasma was relatively low at 7.49 ug/ml with a T max of 14.67 h, while the elimination T 1/2 was 136 h. But the authors did not further describe possible non-linear absorption at such high administered doses ( 26 ). And in the study of Zou et al, the T 1/2 of ponazuril in pigs after single oral administration was estimated as 135 h ( 29 ).…”

“…Currently, the pharmacokinetics of ponazuril has been reported in a variety of animals including cattle ( 23 ), goats ( 24 ), camels ( 25 ), cats ( 26 ), horses ( 27 ), turtles ( 28 ), and weaned pigs ( 29 ). But no relevant studies targeting ponazuril in piglets aged 0–4 weeks, which is the optimal administration time to control coccidiosis, have been published thus far.…”