Brand: BRAVECTO ®

Company: MSD ANIMAL HEALTH = MERCK ANIMAL HEALTH (formerly INTERVET)


FORMULATION: «tablets» for oral administration; may be chewable, flavored, coated, etc., depending on the country

ACTIVE INGREDIENT(S): FLURALANER

CHEMICAL CLASS of the active ingredient(s): ISOXAZOLINE


INDICATIONS:

PARASITES CONTROLLED* (spectrum of activity): Fleas, Ticks: in the USA: Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis; Ixodes scapularis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus; in the EU: Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus


RECOMMENDED DOSE*:

USA, EU, and other countries

  • Dogs, 2.0 to 4.5 kg 4.4. to 9.9 lbs. bw: 1 tablet with 112.5 mg fluralaner (equivalent to 56.3 to 25.0 mg/kg fluralaner)
  • Dogs, >4.5 to 10 kg ≈ >9.9 to 22.0 lbs. bw: 1 tablet with 250 mg fluralaner (equivalent to 54.3 to 25.0 mg/kg fluralaner)
  • Dogs, >10 to 20 kg ≈ >22.0 to to 44 lbs. bw: 1 tablet with 500 mg fluralaner (equivalent to 49.5 to 25.0 mg/kg fluralaner)
  • Dogs, >20 to 40 kg>44 to 88 lbs. bw: 1 tablet with 1000 mg fluralaner (equivalent to 49.8 to 25.0 mg/kg fluralaner)
  • Dogs, >40 to 56 kg ≈ >88 to 123 lbs. bw: 1 tablet with 1400 mg fluralaner (equivalent to 34.9 to 25.0 mg/kg fluralaner)
  • Dogs, >56 kg ≈ >123 lbs. bw: administer the appropriate combination of tablets

* Can be slightly different in some countries: read the product label!


SAFETY

  • LD50 (acute oral) in rats: n.a. for the tablets. >2000 mg/kg for the a.i. fluralaner (source: EMEA)
  • Estimated Hazard Class according to the WHO: not applicable for veterinary medicines

In September 2018 the FDA of the USA has alerted pet owners and veterinarians about potential neurological adverse events following the use of products containing isoxazolines. Some treated animals have experienced adverse events such as muscle tremors, ataxia (lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements), and seizures. This regards all products containing isoxazolines. Most treated animals will not show such adverse drug reactions, but some may be affected.

Suspected poisoning? Read the article on fluralaner safety in this site.

WARNING !!!: Never use on cats tablets approved only for use on dogs, and vice-versa. Never use on cats or small dogs tablets approved for large dogs. Learn more about tablets and their safety.

You may be interested in the following articles in this site dealing with the general safety of veterinary products:


RESISTANCE PREVENTION

Risk of resistance development? YES, very low in fleas, mainly the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis

Fluralaner has been recently introduced. It belongs to the isoxazolines (together with afoxolaner, the active ingredient of NEXGARD), a chemical class of insecticides recently introduced in the 2010s, from which fluralaner and afoxolaner are the first commercial products at all. Isoxazolines have a mode of action that is different from all other insecticides currently used against fleas or ticks, and shows no cross-resistance with them. Consequently there are no reports on resistance to isoxazolines. However, fleas have developed resistance to several other insecticides (e.g. carbamates, organophosphates and pyrethroids) and are certainly capable of becoming resistant to isoxazolines as well. Experience shows that prolonged and uninterrupted use of any insecticide on fleas bears the risk of resistance development. 

Alternatives to prevent resistance through product rotation:

*F = effective against fleas; T = effective against ticks.

These alternative products may not be available in all countries, or may not be available as tablets.

Resistance of fleas to carbamates, organophosphates and pyrethroids is not uncommon in several countries, including the USA.

Learn more about resistance and how it develops.


MARKETING

Are the active ingredients of this product ORIGINAL* or GENERICS**?

  • Fluralaner: ORIGINAL (introduced in 2013, first described by NISSAN)

*Meaning that they are still patent protected and generics are not yet available
**Meaning that they have lost patent protection and may be acquired from manufacturers of generic active ingredients other than the holder of the original patent.

COUNTRIES where this product is marketed: USA, the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
GENERIC BRANDS available? NO

Click here to learn more about GENERIC vs. ORIGINAL drugs.


COMMENTS

BRAVECTO is a flea+tick tablet with fluralaner for dogs. It's 3-month protection claim against fleas and ticks is unprecented for tablets or spot-ons. Only insecticide-impregnated collars claim to offer such a long-term protection against fleas and/or ticks, and there is also an injectable with a 6-month protection claim against fleas, but only for cats (PROGRAM INJECTABLE).

BRAVECTO is approved against all importants ticks in the USA (Amblyomma americanum = lone star tick; Dermacentor variabilis = American dog tick; Ixodes scapularis = black-legged tick; and Rhipicephalus sanguineus = brown dog tick) and in Europe (Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus). Recent studies suggest that a single treatment is also effective against canine demodicosis (Demodex canis).

However, it must be considered that there are other tick species in Europe (e.g. Dermacentor marginatus, Dermacentor pictusHaemaphysalis spp, Hyalomma spp, Rhipicephalus bursa, etc.) and also in the USA that can infect dogs in addition to the ones controlled by this product. It is not known whether BRAVECTO controls such tick species as well.

Fluralaner is a broad-spectrum isoxazoline insecticide and acaricide introduced in the 2010s (by MERCK AH, licensed from NISSAN). It has a systemic mode of action, i.e. after oral administration it gets into the blood of the pet and reaches the fleas and ticks during their blood meal. It starts to kill fleas about 8 hours and ticks about 12 hours after administration. Administered about every 12 weeks it kills attaching ticks and fleas and prevents flea population development in the pets environment, but only if all the dogs and cats in the same household are treated against fleas.

Systemic products (tablets for oral administration, injectables) have several general advantages over topical products (spot-on, insecticide-impregnated collars, shampoos, soaps, sprays, powders, etc):

  • They do not contaminate the pet's hair coat: avoiding contact with the pets after administration is not necessary for children or adults.
  • The active ingredient reaches the parasites through the blood, everywhere in the pet's body, whereas topical products may leave some body parts (e.g. the ears, between the legs, etc.) insufficiently protected.
  • Efficacy is independent from exposure to dirt, sun, shampooing, washings, rain, baths, dirt, etc., whereas topical products can be washed away, or broken down by sunlight, etc.

But they have also a few disadvantages:

  • The parasite has to bite and suck blood first before it is killed or sterilized, i.e. they may transmit several diseases before they are killed.
  • Orally administered products (tablets, suspensions, pastes, etc.) may be vomited and treatment needs to be repeated.
  • Administration of tablets may be less convenient than administration of spot-ons.
  • The choice of products for oral or injectable administration is smaller than for topical administration.

For an overview and a list of the most popular pet antiparasitics for flea, tick, lice and/or mite control click here.


DISCLAIMER

This article IS NOT A PRODUCT LABEL. It offers complementary information that may be useful to veterinary professionals and users that are not familiar with veterinary antiparasitics. 

Information offered in this article has been extracted from publications issued by manufacturers, government agencies (e.g. EMEA, FDA, USDA, etc.) or in the scientific literature. No guarantee is given on its accuracy, integrity, sufficiency, actuality and opportunity, and any liability is denied. Read the site's DISCLAIMER.

In case of doubt contact the manufacturer or a veterinary professional.