Roll Over, Rover, and Left Pfizer Take Over

Yet another sign--in an endless series--that we are living in a post-Rapture world:

The world's first weight-loss drug for dogs has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Slentrol, made by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is intended to significantly reduce the appetite and increase fat absorption in canines.

The FDA's head of veterinary medicine said the drug was a welcome addition to animal therapies because of an apparent increase in dog obesity in the US.

Americans own 65 million dogs and almost 40% of US households have one.

According to the FDA, veterinarians generally define a dog that weighs 20% more than its ideal weight as obese.

Surveys have found that approximately 5% of dogs in the US are obese, and another 20-30% are overweight, it says.

It'll cost between $1 and $2 a day. Given the amount saved on food, who knows, maybe it's a boon for pet owners (and where's the feline version, which is just waiting for a Garfield ad campaign?). More here.

Of greater concern to all of us should be the slowdown in new drugs coming to market, which seems to partially due to well-known FDA regulatory red tape and dubious decisionmaking by pharmaceutical companies.