Drugs tested on humans first?

A growing pharmaceutical niche is taking human drugs and converting them to medications for cats, dogs and other companion animals.

Globally, veterinary medicines and vaccinations make up a $22 billion industry, the bulk of which is for livestock, according to SFGate.com. But increasingly, animal pharmaceutical businesses are branching off as divisions of large human drug manufacturers, fueled by owners who treat their pets like members of the family and are willing to spend accordingly.

For instance, Burlingame’s Kindred Biosciences Inc. has developed a canine version of the allergy medicine Allegra, a feline version of epoetin to treat kidney disease, and is enrolling dogs in trials for a canine version of the human osteoarthritis drug diacerein. The company is hoping to receive approval for the drugs from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine by 2015.