Laboratory evaluation of the efficacy and speed of kill of lotilaner (Credelio(TM)) against Ixodes ricinus ticks on cats

BACKGROUND: Lotilaner, approved for dogs as a chewable tablet formulation, has separately been developed for oral use in cats (Credelio(TM) chewable tablets for cats), to meet the need for an easy to use, safe and rapidly effective parasiticide. It is a valid cat- and owner-friendly alternative to topical products. This manuscript describes three pivotal laboratory studies assessing the efficacy and speed of kill of lotilaner in cats against Ixodes ricinus ticks following a single oral administration, at a dose rate close to 6 mg/kg. METHODS: In Studies 1 and 2, efficacy and safety were evaluated 48 h after treatment and post-treatment weekly infestations in 16 cats, against untreated controls, for 35 days. In Study 3, efficacy and safety were assessed in 8 lotilaner-treated cats until Day 35, before and after 24 h incubation of the female live ticks removed from the animals 12, 18 and 24 h after dosing and subsequent weekly infestations. RESULTS: Efficacy was > 99% on days 23 and 37, and 100% on all other timepoints in Study 1. In Study 2 it was > 98% on Days 9 and 37, and 100% on all other days. In Study 3, on Day 0, lotilaner was > 90% efficacious, pre- and post-incubation at all time-points. On Day 7, at 12 hours after infestation, efficacy was 100%, pre- and post-incubation. On Day 14, there was a 66.5% reduction in geometric mean live tick counts in treated cats compared to controls, increasing, after incubation, to 94.4%. Afterwards, efficacy decreased below 90% while tick counts in the treated groups remained significantly lower compared to controls. At 18 hours, lotilaner was ≥ 90% efficacious through Day 37, increasing to 100% at 24 hours, on all study days, with the exception of Day 28 (98.9 and 99.1% pre- and post-incubation, respectively). There were no treatment-related adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: At the minimum dose rate of 6 mg/kg, lotilaner was efficacious against I. ricinus ticks. In addition, lotilaner was effective against this tick within 12 hours of treatment, reaching 100% efficacy within 24 hours. Lotilaner sustained a rapid kill of newly infesting I. ricinus through 35 days. By quickly killing ticks that infest cats, lotilaner has the potential to contribute to the reduction of tick-borne pathogens transmission. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2968-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.