Editorial

Abstract

With this supplement to the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (JVPT) we present for the first time a special issue dedicated to a single, recently developed product to be used in veterinary practice. Dirlotapide is a member of a new class of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) inhibitors, designed to manage obesity in dogs. The costs of publication were supported by the drug's sponsor, but the ten articles comprising this supplement have undergone the same rigorous editorial review process to which all manuscripts are subjected prior to acceptance for publication in JVPT. In addition, the articles were also reviewed for consistency with related manuscripts in the same supplement. It is worthwhile to mention that some articles, focusing on nutritional science, would not normally be published in JVPT, being outside its scope. However, they were included in this supplement to ensure a complete presentation of the efficacy and safety assessments of this exciting new class of drugs. The Editors of the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics would also like to take the opportunity to introduce with this supplement one of the recent policies of the journal. In the past, special issues were published only on the occasion of EAVPT Congresses (Congress proceedings) or as summaries of specific training workshops, for example the special reviews issue devoted to PK and PK-PD in Veterinary Medicine. Considering the unique position of JVPT as the only journal focusing entirely on veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics, we felt that it should also provide a forum to present comprehensive overviews on new pharmaceutical entities and/or advanced therapeutic strategies. In the field of human drug innovation, a number of journals specialize in the presentation of review articles on recent trends in pharmacology and/or in the presentation of expert opinions on actual topics. In the certainly smaller field of veterinary drug development, a common forum for these overviews is lacking as yet. Hence we would like to invite pharmaceutical companies and/or research institutions to submit series of articles addressing the various pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic aspects (species comparisons and individual variability in ADMET) as well as studies relating to clinical efficacy of a single new pharmaceutical entity. In addition, reviews relating to new concepts in therapeutic intervention may be submitted in a package along with original studies. We offer all our support for rapid processing of the submissions, and the allocation of all related manuscripts to one (special) issue. However, at the same time we demand that all manuscripts undergo the same rigorous editorial review process to which all regularly submitted manuscripts are subjected prior to acceptance for publication to ensure scientific quality and independency. This invitation to form a consortium of authors focusing on a single subject or class of substances in review papers and individual research contributions also applies to the field of veterinary toxicology. We are convinced that the readers of JVPT will appreciate these comprehensive series devoted to topics that are both actual and essential in either discipline.