Comparative palatability of a new formulation and two commercial formulations of benazepril in dogs

SUMMARY Poor compliance in long-term treatments may be a major obstacle to therapeutic success even when using the most effective of drugs. In the case of oral medication, palatability plays a significant role in dosing compliance. NELIO® 20 tablets is a new benazepril formulation indicated for the long-term treatment of heart failure in dogs, and the authors considered it important to evaluate its palatability in comparison with two commercial formulations already available on the market: FORTEKOR® 20 tablets and BENAKOR® 20 tablets. Acceptance and preference tests were therefore performed in 20 dogs to compare the voluntary acceptance, preference and consumption of the three products. The acceptance tests showed a spontaneous prehension rate of 100% for NELIO® 20 and FORTEKOR® 20, and 90% for BENAKOR® 20. Full consumption after prehension took place in 90% of the tests with NELIO® 20 compared to 95% of those with FORTEKOR® 20 (p > 0.05) and 50% of those with BENAKOR® 20 (p 0.05) while 63% of the dogs chose NELIO® 20 instead of BENAKOR® 20 (p < 0.02). These results suggest that NELIO® 20 could be an interesting alternative that may improve dosing compliance and therefore the therapeutic effects in the longterm treatment of heart failure.