- Susan E. Gingrich
Worries About Knockoff Drugs
CAUTION!

Increased FIP research is important and needed, but an important reminder! We need to ensure published research is from a credible source. Legitimate FIP research is peer reviewed and accepted by research experts involved in the publication it appears in. Once accepted and published in a credible publication, news of it is widely shared. The process of acceptance and publication can be quite difficult at times. It often requires additional information and resubmission, until accepted. Dr. Pedersen is in the process of submitting Luna's clinical trial for publication. Despite it not being published, including the trial’s protocol, and the exact formula of the drug proprietary, (totally the private property of a US pharmaceutical company), a Chinese company with a location in the US is selling its knock-off version to people desperate to save their cats. There are many warnings about the potential dangers of drugs manufactured in China. Plus, in this case, ordering the drug believed to be the one curing some cats in the US and using the protocol recommended, most likely will be folly and a big waste of money. The US Food and Drug Administration approves drugs for legitimate reasons, mainly to promote safety and ensure they work.
To the best of my knowledge, Luna’s drug is not approved for use in the US for anything, so it is not a matter of using it off label like FOI or Doxy for FIP are used. I understand it is hard to be patient, I’ve had to be for over 12 years. But we have come far and additional treatments and real cures for many cats are on the horizon with continued research.
Please be careful out there!