27/05/2025
So, Nala had 2 librella injections when she was diagnosed with early onset arthritis. Then I came across some research that I found worrying and decided not to continue with the injections. This latest study confirms to me even more that I made the right choice for my dog. There are other options out there and I certainly don’t want to make her joints worse. The problem is these things are often marketed before we know the full extent of the side effects 😥
LIBRELA TRAGEDY
Can't stop thinking about the results of that Librela study by Farrell et al. (2025), published yesterday.
Ligament/tendon injury, polyarthritis, fracture, musculoskeletal neoplasia (new bone growth) and septic arthritis were reported NINE TIMES more frequently in Librela-treated dogs than the combined total of dogs treated with the comparator drugs for osteoarthritis.
Again, 9 times more than all the other drugs combined.
The 18-member expert panel unanimously concluded a strong suspicion of a causal association between Librela and accelerated joint destruction.
Many, like vet Josie Beug, have been warning us for a year to pay heed to the fact Librela managed to accumulate many times more adverse event reports since its release in the US in Oct 2023 (12,234 serious adverse event reports in just 18mths in America alone) than its nearest competitor, Rimadyl has EVER.
Bedinvetmab (Librela) was unleashed on the US pet market in October 2023 with an enormous budget from Zoetis and two small (highly questionable) studies (conducted by them). And that's all it took for, it seems, the worlds vets to start recommending it.
Because that's how it works, isn't it? A brand new, patented drug, shat out by the industry, accompanied by two little studies (run by them) and off we go to the races.
The first study, a safety and tolerance study, looked at varying doses of Librela (1mg/kg, 5mg/kg, 10mg/kg) in young, healthy, intact dogs aged 11-12 months. There was just 8 dogs in each group. After 6mths they did neurological tests, checked their vitals and that was that.
See, the manufacturers tested their drugs on young, robust dogs with no joint issues.
Farrell et al. (2025) were looking at side effects in older dogs with joint disease.
And they can do that little trial as often as they like AND they don't have to publish all the negative ones.
This was followed by, if you can believe it, a 6-month in-field study of 89 client-owned dogs WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED A POSITIVE RESPONSE TO LIBRELA. After 6mths, the few adverse events noted were within predicted norms.
Veterinary Evidence took a look at these couple of studies prior to Librela's launch and concluded the supporting evidence was "weak", that any decision to use bedinvetmab "remains dependent on the judgement and experience of the clinician".
https://veterinaryevidence. org/index.php/ve/article/download/598/903?
See that? The onus is shifted to the clinician.
Do you know why? Because time and time again, once enough money is paid to the right people, dangerous drugs WILL get to market in the full knowledge that our doctors appear completely unable to notice / track side effects from the medications they are recommending.
Much like the absolute explosion in adverse events reported to VAERS following the introduction of mRNA gene therapies into the population five years ago, it's literally incredible how clinicians today will consistently ignore any and all adverse event reporting systems that we have put in place to FLAG ISSUES (since the Thalidomide scandal) until someone else tells them to stop.
Why is that?
In 2021, there was 717,577 adverse event reports submitted to VAERS for all COVID-19 vaccines combiines (nearly 300 million were administered to Americans that year), when typically VAERS receives between 30,000 and 50,000 adverse event reports annually for all other vaccines combined (150 million administered in the US in a given year).
And remember, studies show the figures that are reported to adverse event reporting systems are approximately 1-5% of the ACTUAL events that are going on.
So, for context, that 12,000 adverse events for librela in just 18mths in the US would become 240,000.
Folk say, but 25 million doses were given!! Yes, GLOBALLY. If we guess that maybe half those were sold in the US, it means potential ruin for a dog every 1 in 50 doses. Dogs are taking it monthly.
But worse, it was very predictable that this was going to happen. The drug couldn't pass human trials due to side effects.
Bedinvetmab, marketed as Librela, is a monoclonal antibody designed to alleviate osteoarthritis pain in dogs by targeting nerve growth factor (NGF).
While bedinvetmab itself was not developed for human use, its mechanism of action is similar-bordering-identical to other anti-NGF monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that have been investigated in human clinical trials, namely tanezumab, fasinumab, and fulranumab.
Exactly like mRNA gene therapies before they were forced through in 2021, ALL trials for NGF monoclonal antibodies revealed major safety concerns that blocked their prior release, mostly concerning patients developing rapidly progressive osteoarthritis and accelerated joint degeneration. Even when adjusting the dose down and placing restrictions on concurrent NSAID use, the risks persisted. The US FDA had no other choice but to halt all trials of all anti-NGF monoclonal antibody treatments in 2012.
As folk will inevitably point out, there's no doubt Librela works for some, yes, the same way the mRNA gene therapies MAY have been useful in the initial stages for older, at-risk folk, maybe (although, side effects aside, studies show the more you took the more likely you were to get Covid...) but when you look at the data overall, its clear there is gong to be a lot of dogs very negatively impacted for life by this one.
At a minimum, please ask your vet for any other options in the osteo-arthritic pain relief department.
There are a plethora of things you can do to help osteoarthritis, the first is by reducing inflammation in the body. This means no more kibble as, studies show, it's inflammatory. Raw dog food is full of fresh calcium, glucosamine, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, etc, all of which joints NEED. Moreover, the higher protein diets will reduce obesity, shown to greatly aggravate OA. You can jack up the omega 3, add some muscles. And this is all before you consider antiinflammatory, pain-relieving herbs like boswelia, devils claw. There is nutraceuticals. There is red light therapy. There is acupuncture. Massage. Hydro.
Has your vet done all of this with you before reaching for the NSAIDs and pain meds?
I doubt it. It's not vindictive. They know little about all those "alternative" (cheap, effective) treatments.
If you want some more options for osteoarthritis pain, askbradi .com.
If you feel you have been harmed, you can fill in the adverse event report yourself, doesn't need a vet.
UK folk here www. gov. uk/report-veterinary-medicine-problem
US folk here www. fda. gov/animal-veterinary/report-problem/how-report-animal-drug-side-effects-and-product-problems
REF
www.frontiersin. org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1581490/full
