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Background: The efficacy of fluralaner spot-on solution administered once topically against induced infestations with Rhipicephalus sanguineus was evaluated in dogs over a 12-week post-treatment period. Methods: Six negative-controlled studies were conducted, involving a total of 112 adult dogs (57 mixed breed, 47 Beagles, eight Labradors). In each study, dogs were randomized to two groups of eight to ten dogs each. On day 0, dogs in each treated group were topically administered fluralaner spot-on solution once at a dose of 25 mg/kg body weight, while dogs in each control group were not treated. Two days before treatment, and on days 28, 56 and 84 after treatment, all dogs were infested with approximately 50 unfed, adult Rh. sanguineus ticks (sex ratio 1:1). Ticks were removed and counted on days 2, 30 (4 weeks), 58 (8 weeks), and 86 (12 weeks) after treatment to assess efficacy. Results: Efficacy against ticks 2 days after treatment was 91.1 % (study 1), 98.4 % (study 2), 100 % (study 3), 97.6 % (study 4), 99.6 % (study 5), and 99.8 % (study 6). At all other assessment time points, tick efficacy was 95.4-100 %. Tick reduction in all treatment groups was significant at all assessment time points (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: A single topical administration of fluralaner spot-on solution provides a high level of therapeutic and persistent efficacy against Rh. sanguineus ticks over the subsequent 12 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of a single oral treatment with sarolaner (Simparica™, Zoetis), a novel isoxazoline compound, was evaluated against five tick species known to infest dogs in the United States. A total of 10 laboratory studies, two against each species, were conducted using adult purpose-bred mongrels or Beagle dogs. In each study, 16 dogs were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups based on pre-treatment host-suitability tick counts. Dogs were infested with approximately 50 unfed adult Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis or Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks on Days -2, 5, 12, 19, 26 and 33. On Day 0, dogs were treated with a placebo or a sarolaner tablet providing a minimum dose of 2 mg/kg. Tick counts were conducted 48 h after treatment and after each subsequent weekly re-infestation. There were no treatment-related adverse reactions during any of the studies. Dogs in the placebo-treated group maintained tick infestations throughout the studies. Geometric mean live tick counts were significantly lower ( P ≤0.0001) in the sarolaner-treated group compared to the tick counts in the placebo group at all timepoints. Treatment with sarolaner resulted in ≥99.6% efficacy against existing infestations of all five tick species within 48 h. The efficacy against weekly post-treatment re-infestations of all tick species was ≥96.9% for at least 35 days after treatment. Thus, a single dose of sarolaner administered orally at the minimum dosage of 2 mg/kg, resulted in excellent efficacy within 48 h against existing tick infestations, and against weekly re-infestations for 35 days after treatment. These studies confirmed that administration of the minimum dose of sarolaner will provide rapid treatment of existing infestations and give at least one month of control against re-infestation by the common tick species affecting dogs in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, infests dogs and cats in North America and is the vector of the pathogens that cause monocytic and granulocytic ehrlichiosis in dogs and humans. A parasiticide’s speed of kill is important to minimize the direct and deleterious effects of tick infestation and especially to reduce the risk of transmission of tick-borne pathogens. In this study, speed of kill of a novel orally administered isoxazoline parasiticide, sarolaner (Simparica™ chewable tablets), against A. americanum on dogs was evaluated and compared with afoxolaner (NexGard®) for 5 weeks following a single oral dose. Methods: Based on pretreatment tick counts, 24 dogs were randomly allocated to treatment with sarolaner (2 to 4 mg/kg), afoxolaner (2.5 to 6.8 mg/kg) or a placebo. Dogs were examined and live ticks counted at 8, 12, and 24 h after treatment and subsequent re-infestations on Days 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35. Efficacy was determined at each time point relative to counts for placebo dogs. Results: A single oral dose of sarolaner provided 100 % efficacy within 24 h of treatment, and consistently provided >90 % efficacy against subsequent weekly re-infestations with ticks to Day 28. Significantly more live ticks were recovered from afoxolaner-treated dogs than from sarolaner-treated dogs at 24 h after infestation from Day 7 through Day 35 (P ≤ 0.0247). At 24 h, efficacy of afoxolaner declined to less than 90 % from Day 14 to the end of the study. There were no adverse reactions to treatment. Conclusions: In this controlled laboratory evaluation, sarolaner had a faster speed of kill against A. americanum ticks than afoxolaner. The rapid and consistent kill of ticks by sarolaner within 24 h after a single oral dose over 28 days, suggests this treatment will provide highly effective and reliable control of ticks over the entire treatment interval, and could help reduce the risk of transmission of tick-borne pathogens by A. americanum [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fleas are a ubiquitous ectoparasite infesting dogs and cause direct discomfort, allergic reactions and are responsible for the transmission of several pathogens. The rapid speed of kill of a parasiticide is important to alleviate the direct deleterious effects of fleas, reduce the impact of allergic responses, and break the flea life cycle. In this study, the speed of kill of a novel orally administered isoxazoline parasiticide, sarolaner (Simparica™) against fleas on dogs was evaluated and compared with spinosad in combination with milbemycin oxime (Trifexis®) for 5 weeks after a single oral dose. Methods: Twenty-four dogs were randomly allocated to treatment with a single oral dose per product label of sarolaner (2 to 4 mg/kg), spinosad/milbemycin oxime (30 to 60 mg/kg / 0.2 to 0.4 mg/kg), or placebo based on pretreatment flea counts. Dogs were combed and live fleas counted at 8, 12, and 24 h after treatment and subsequent re-infestations on Days 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35. Efficacy (reduction in live flea counts) of each treatment was determined at each time point relative to counts for placebo dogs. Results: There were no adverse reactions to treatment. A single oral dose of sarolaner provided ≥94.0 % efficacy (based on geometric means) within 8 h of treatment or subsequent weekly re-infestations of fleas to Day 35. By 12 h, fleas were eradicated from all dogs and they remained flea free at 24 h. Significantly greater numbers of live fleas were recovered from spinosad/milbemycin oxime-treated dogs at 8 h from Day 21 to Day 35 (P ≤ 0.0085), and at 12 and 24 h on Day 35 (P ≤ 0.0002). Conclusions: In this controlled laboratory evaluation, dogs treated with sarolaner had significantly fewer live fleas than spinosad/milbemycin oxime- treated dogs at 8 h after re-infestation from Day 21 after a single oral dose. The rapid and consistent kill of fleas after a single oral dose of sarolaner over 35 days indicates that this treatment should provide highly effective control of flea infestations, relief for dogs afflicted with flea allergy dermatitis, and also reduce the risk of transmission of flea-borne pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: Four laboratory studies were conducted to demonstrate that a single topical dose of a novel spot-on combination containing fipronil, amitraz and (S)-methoprene (CERTIFECT™, Merial Limited, GA, USA) is efficacious against the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. In each study, 6–8 male and 6–8 female purpose-bred, laboratory mongrels, terrier cross or Beagles were randomly assigned to one of two study groups (treated and untreated), based on pre-treatment parasite counts. Starting on the day before treatment, each dog was infested weekly with 50 ticks. Ticks were thumb counted at various time points after treatment and weekly infestations starting as early as 6h and continued at 12, 18 and 24h depending on the study. Ticks were removed and counted at 48h after treatment and weekly infestations. CERTIFECT provided rapid and excellent control of pre-existing and newly acquired infestations of R. sanguineus with efficacy as high as 93% within the first 12h after a single topical treatment. Excellent control (>96%) of R. sanguineus as early as 18h, following post treatment infestations was maintained for at least 35 days. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The rapid speed of kill of sarolaner (Simparica™, Zoetis), a novel isoxazoline compound, was demonstrated against three tick species known to infest dogs in Europe or the United States. Efficacy was measured against an existing infestation and against subsequent weekly re-infestations for 35 days after treatment. Dogs were randomly allocated to treatment with a single oral dose of either placebo or sarolaner (2 mg/kg) based on pre-treatment host-suitability tick counts. Dogs were infested with approximately 50 unfed adult Ixodes scapularis , Ixodes ricinus or Amblyomma maculatum ticks on Days—2, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Tick counts were conducted at 4 ( I. scapularis only), 8, 12 and 24 h after treatment on Day 0 and after each subsequent re-infestation. No treatment-related adverse reactions occurred during any of these studies. Dogs in the placebo-treated groups maintained adequate tick infestations (recovery of 20–70% of applied ticks) throughout the duration of the studies. Following treatment, live tick counts were significantly reduced relative to placebo at the 8 h post treatment counts indicating that sarolaner started killing existing infestations of ticks rapidly after treatment. Efficacy was 90.1% against I. ricinus , 98.8% against I. scapularis, and 99.2% against A. maculatum within 12 h, and 100% efficacy was achieved at 24 h after treatment against all three tick species. This speed of kill was maintained throughout the month with ≥95.7%, ≥98.7% and ≥89.6% efficacy against I. scapularis, I. ricinus, and A. maculatum , respectively, at 24 h after re-infestation at least through Day 28. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of a single oral dose of a novel isoxazoline, sarolaner (Simparica™, Zoetis), for the treatment and control of flea infestations on dogs was confirmed in five laboratory studies. The studies were conducted using adult purpose-bred Beagles and/or mixed breed dogs. All animals were individually identified and housed, and were allocated randomly to treatment with either placebo or sarolaner (eight to 10 per group) based on pretreatment parasite counts. Three studies used cat flea ( Ctenocephalides felis felis ) strains recently isolated from the field from the US, EU, or Australia; in the fourth study a laboratory strain (KS1) with documented tolerance to a number of insecticides such as fipronil, imidacloprid, and permethrin was used. In the fifth study, dogs were infested with dog fleas, Ctenocephalides canis . Dogs were treated orally on Day 0 with a placebo or a sarolaner tablet providing a minimum dose of 2 mg/kg. Dogs were infested with approximately 100 unfed, adult fleas prior to treatment and at weekly intervals post-treatment. Comb counts were conducted to determine the numbers of viable fleas at 24 h after treatment and after each subsequent infestation. Efficacy against C. felis and C. canis was 99.8–100% from treatment through Day 35. In all five studies, elimination of existing infestations was achieved within 24 h after dosing, with only a single live C. felis found on one dog on Day 1. Similarly, control of flea challenges was achieved within 24 h after infestation throughout the 35 day study periods, with only single live C. felis found on two dogs on Day 28 in one study, and on a single dog on Day 35 in another study. There were no adverse reactions to treatment with sarolaner. These studies confirmed that a single oral dose of sarolaner at 2 mg/kg provided highly effective treatment of existing C. felis infestations and persistent control of C. felis on dogs for 35 days after treatment. Efficacy equivalent to that seen with C. felis was confirmed against C. canis and a known insecticide-tolerant strain of C. felis . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Five laboratory studies were conducted to confirm that a single topical dose of the novel combination of fipronil, amitraz and (S)-methoprene, CERTIFECT™ (Merial Limited, GA, USA), is efficacious for the rapid control of pre-existing infestations and the prevention of new infestations with Ixodes scapularis, Dermacentor variabilis, Amblyomma americanum and Amblyomma maculatum for at least 28 days on dogs. In each study, 8 male and 8 female purpose-bred, laboratory beagles were randomly assigned to one of two study groups (treated and untreated). Starting on the day before treatment, each dog was infested weekly with about 30 or 50 ticks, depending on the study. Treatment with the novel combination rapidly eliminated pre-existing infestations and controlled weekly re-infestations for at least 28 days. Pre-existing infestations with all four tick species were rapidly and effectively reduced, with post-treatment therapeutic efficacies ranging from 91.7 to 99.5% within 18–48h post treatment. Amblyomma maculatum numbers were significantly (p <0.05) reduced on treated dogs from the first tick counts as early as 6h post-treatment. All subsequent infestations with each of the 4 tick species were quickly disrupted, with prophylactic efficacies greater than 90% within 18–48h post-infestation for at least a full month. Because the combination of fipronil, amitraz and (S)-methoprene quickly starts disrupting and killing ixodid ticks within hours of treatment, with similar high levels of efficacy maintained for at least 28 days in these and other studies, the authors conclude that a single topical treatment with CERTIFECT may prevent the transmission of most infectious agents carried by ixodid ticks for at least one month. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]