Efficacy of a 3C-like protease inhibitor in treating various forms of acquired feline infectious peritonitis

OBJECTIVES: The safety and efficacy of the 3C-like protease inhibitor GC376 was tested on a cohort of client-owned cats with various forms of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). METHODS: Twenty cats from 3.3–82 months of age (mean 10.4 months) with various forms of FIP were accepted into a field trial. Fourteen cats presented with wet or dry-to-wet FIP and six cats presented with dry FIP. GC376 was administered subcutaneously every 12 h at a dose of 15 mg/kg. Cats with neurologic signs were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Nineteen of 20 cats treated with GC376 regained outward health within 2 weeks of initial treatment. However, disease signs recurred 1–7 weeks after primary treatment and relapses and new cases were ultimately treated for a minimum of 12 weeks. Relapses no longer responsive to treatment occurred in 13 of these 19 cats within 1–7 weeks of initial or repeat treatment(s). Severe neurologic disease occurred in 8/13 cats that failed treatment and five cats had recurrences of abdominal lesions. At the time of writing, seven cats were in disease remission. Five kittens aged 3.3–4.4 months with wet FIP were treated for 12 weeks and have been in disease remission after stopping treatment and at the time of writing for 5–14 months (mean 11.2 months). A sixth kitten was in remission for 10 weeks after 12 weeks of treatment, relapsed and is responding to a second round of GC376. The seventh was a 6.8-year-old cat with only mesenteric lymph node involvement that went into remission after three relapses that required progressively longer repeat treatments over a 10 month period. Side effects of treatment included transient stinging upon injection and occasional foci of subcutaneous fibrosis and hair loss. There was retarded development and abnormal eruption of permanent teeth in cats treated before 16–18 weeks of age. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: GC376 showed promise in treating cats with certain presentations of FIP and has opened the door to targeted antiviral drug therapy.