VETmAb's canine IBD antibody beats placebo in 19-dog pilot

VETmAb Biosciences' long-acting antibody beat placebo 77.8% to 30.0% in a 19-dog pilot for canine chronic inflammatory enteropathy, the relapsing gut disease often called IBD. The San Diego company, started by the team that built Kindred Biosciences, reported the results on October 26th, 2026 and says no therapy is approved for the condition.

Gut disease is common in dogs and has no approved drug

CIE is a group of relapsing, immune-driven conditions that cause chronic vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss. VETmAb cites Nationwide's 2025 claims data showing gastrointestinal issues are the second most common reason dogs see a veterinarian. A 2019 study the company cites estimates that about 1.7 million U.S. dogs have the disease.

Vets manage it today with diet changes and long-term steroids or other immunosuppressants, which the company said often fail to give lasting control. VMB-C001a instead blocks IL-23, an immune-signaling protein. IL-23 inhibitors are among the most effective treatments for human IBD, according to VETmAb.

The pilot paid out on 7 of 9 treated dogs

In the randomized, masked pilot, nine dogs with naturally occurring disease got the drug and ten got placebo, over 105 days of treatment with five clinic visits. Success meant at least a 25% drop in the dogs' average CIBDAI score, the canine IBD activity index, between Days 75 and 105, with no other medication or supplements for gut signs.

On the drug, 66.7% of dogs had a partial response and 11.1% reached remission, a drop of more than 75%. On placebo, 30.0% had a partial response and none reached remission. It is a sponsor-reported pilot, and one dog moves a group's rate by about 11 points.

One placebo dog had a serious adverse event and was euthanized on Day 105. One treated dog yelped at injection. The company said every other adverse event was mild and unrelated to the drug.

Getting a dog into these trials takes work. Ohio State's veterinary medical center posted a placebo-controlled VMB-C001a study in April that puts dogs without a prior food trial on a two-week diet first and requires endoscopy with biopsies to confirm the diagnosis.

"Pet owners have shown they will embrace innovative medicines, and the first generation of targeted biologics has created blockbuster categories in veterinary medicine," said Denise Bevers, VETmAb's co-founder and CEO. She called the results "encouraging early clinical evidence."

Pet antibodies already built a blockbuster in itch

Bevers' team has done this before. Kindred Biosciences led to four veterinary product approvals, and Elanco closed its purchase of Kindred in 2021 in a deal VETmAb puts at $444M.

The model it points to is dermatology. Zoetis' Cytopoint ran alone for eight years until Elanco's Befrena entered the $1.3B U.S. canine dermatology market in May. For general practices and internal medicine specialists, a long-acting CIE shot would bring gut disease into the same in-clinic biologic routine.

The path to market has a shortcut. The drug is eligible for the FDA's expanded conditional approval pathway. If that approval is granted, VETmAb said, it could sell the drug while finishing the effectiveness studies needed for full approval.

Pegasus used conditional approval in May for the first canine pregabalin, and Loyal's LOY-003 cleared an early efficacy step in September.

VETmAb, which is privately held, said VMB-C001a moves next to pivotal development. Its pipeline lists five programs, including an anti-IL-23 for feline CIE, an anti-FcRn antibody for immune disease in dogs and cats, and a peptide for canine metabolic disease.

The pivotal study is the readout that counts.

Source: VETmAb Biosciences via GlobeNewswire