Boehringer's quarterable Previcox tablet reaches retail with a 7 pound floor

Vets can now quarter a Previcox tablet and dose dogs as small as 7 pounds, Boehringer Ingelheim announced on October 7th, 2026, down from the 12.5 pound floor on its current product page. Pharmacy listings already carry the change, with updated label text at Banfield and the quarterable 227 mg tablet priced at $224.59 for 60 count at PetSmart. The drug itself is unchanged.

The label already sets a 7 pound floor

The release gives no price, no sales figure and no rollout dates, and it does not say when the 7 pound figure reaches the label. Retail listings fill most of that gap. Banfield's pharmacy listing carries updated label text saying dogs under 7 pounds cannot be accurately dosed, and that dosing should be calculated in quarter-tablet increments, with split tablets used within 30 days. PetSmart's pharmacy lists the quarterable 227 mg tablet at $224.59 for 60 count.

The maker's own site has not caught up. The company's Previcox product page still says dogs weighing less than 12.5 pounds cannot be accurately dosed, and lists 2.27 mg per pound (5.0 mg per kilogram) once daily. By our math, moving the floor from 12.5 pounds to 7 pounds is a 44% cut.

One piece is still missing. The dosing chart that sets the weight bands has not been published. By our math, a quarter of a 57 mg tablet is 14.25 mg, about 4.5 mg per kilogram for a 7 pound dog, against the labeled 5.0 mg per kilogram. That gap may simply be a weight band, but the chart is what would settle it.

Quarter tablets open the product to smaller dogs

The company says the design followed FDA approval. The 57 mg and 227 mg strengths, the formulation and the bottle counts are unchanged, and divided tablets can be stored in their packaging for up to one month. The bottle also moves to a taller, industry-standard round design, and the cotton is removed. Rollout runs through 2026 and 2027, starting with the 227 mg and 57 mg bottles of 60.

The indications stay the same: osteoarthritis pain and inflammation, plus pain after soft-tissue and orthopedic surgery. A 2008 FDA approval summary, dated September 23rd, 2008 and filed under Merial, now part of Boehringer, lists single-scored chewable tablets in the same two strengths. Scoring is therefore the visible change.

An old drug competes on convenience, not mechanism

Dr. Russ Drury, executive director of veterinary professional services at Boehringer, said in the release that the design benefits veterinarians and dog owners by making dosing easier to tailor. The concrete claims are aimed at the clinic, from lower doses for small dogs to a month of storage for a divided tablet.

That matters because the osteoarthritis category is being contested on other terms. Zoetis has pushed a three-month arthritis injection, Lenivia, that cuts the number of clinic visits needed, and it has reported pressure on U.S. sales of its monthly injections, as we covered in our look at the osteoarthritis pain market. Zoetis announced the Lenivia launch in Canada and the EU on July 15th, 2026, and that release does not mention a U.S. launch.

A daily tablet is a different business from a clinic-administered injection, because a prescription tablet can be filled outside the clinic. Our reading is that Boehringer wants the tablet to stay the easy default for small and mid-size dogs while injectables compete for the harder cases. That is analysis, not a company statement.

Previcox is a COX-2 selective NSAID, and the release repeats the class warnings on stomach, kidney and liver effects, so dosing small dogs by quarter tablet will still rest on vet judgment. Clinics that stock Previcox should expect new bottles as the rollout runs through 2027.

A better tablet, not a new drug.

Source: Boehringer Ingelheim via PR Newswire