Dr. Pedersen Fall 2017 Research Update
UC Davis is no longer accepting cats with FIP for treatment. No exceptions will be made and no drugs can be provided. Two different drugs have been tested against naturally occurring FIP and both show promise and will hopefully be commercialized. This is a complex process that ultimately involves identifying potential companies interested in taking a drug through FDA approval and licensing. This is not a simple task and could take one to two years before these drugs become available for use by licensed veterinarians. We have described our experiences with GC387, the first of these drugs, in an upcoming article in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. This article will be available open access for free download at the JFMS website. A similar report will be published on the second drug, EV0984, as soon as all the cats have finished their treatments and have been observed for several months for disease recurrence. Other drugs may be tested in the future.
I wish there were currently available treatments for FIP, but none have proven curative and therapy remains basically symptomatic and targeted at extending a reasonable quality of life and not to cure the infection. We are convinced based on our research that anti-viral drugs of the type currently used for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection will provide the best chance for curing this terrible disease of cats. Such drugs include protease inhibitors (GC376), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (EV0984), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, as well as other classes of anti-viral drugs that target specific aspects of FIP virus replication.
We apologize for the delay that you may have experienced in contacting UC Davis or SOCK FIP, as we are receiving so many requests for FIP treatment and information to possibly give each query the time it deserves and requires. We wish there was a treatment available right now that could cure this heartbreaking feline disease but please realize that researching various drugs, finding ones that are safe and effective in the laboratory and field, and getting them into the hands of veterinarians is not a simple and quick process.
-NC Pedersen