GLP-1 weight loss drugs for pets are in trials now.
Searching “Ozempic for cats” or “Ozempic for dogs”? Nothing is approved yet, and human GLP-1 drugs stay off the table for pets: they cannot legally be prescribed for animals and are not safe to give them. Here is where every real programme actually stands.
Free. We write when a trial actually moves, and not otherwise.
Where pet GLP-1 actually stands
Verified 2026-08-02Two GLP-1 programmes exist for pets, and both are in cats. Neither is approved, neither is prescribable, and the next expected readout is AKS-562c in H2 2026.
Dates below are marked with how much weight they carry. An estimate we derived and a date a sponsor committed to are not the same claim, and this is the only tracker that says which is which.
| Programme | Species | Expected readout | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pivotal studyThe study intended to support approval | ||||
| OKV-119Okava PharmaceuticalsMEOW-1 study | Cats | Summer 2027Estimated, not company-confirmed | Dosing. The MEOW-1 study is running in client-owned overweight and obese cats under an FDA-CVM Investigational New Animal Drug application, with weight and health metrics measured at three and six months. CNBC reported on 18 July 2026 that top-line results of both feline GLP-1 trials are expected later this year. That sentence is unattributed, covers the two programmes in one clause, and gives no Okava-specific date; Okava itself has stated no readout date. It is recorded here because readers arrive carrying it, and it is not adopted as the MEOW-1 window: the estimate below follows the trial's own clock, a December 2025 start, an implant releasing for up to six months, a three-month primary period with an optional three-month extension, and cats still being dosed in mid-2026. | Full statusFull status for OKV-119 |
| Pilot studyEarly study, small numbers | ||||
| AKS-562cAkston Biosciences | Cats | H2 2026Estimated, not company-confirmed | The Cornell study in client-owned overweight cats, 70 enrolled with an option to extend, has published nothing. Cornell's own award record puts the project period at July 2025 to June 2026 and describes an 11-week treatment period, principal investigator Patrick Carney. The funded period has therefore closed without a published result. The safety data Akston presented at the 2026 ACVIM Forum came from a separate preclinical study in 16 healthy research cats: well tolerated over 12 weeks, no treatment-related toxicity, no antidrug antibodies. Those are two different cohorts and only the second has read out. | Full statusFull status for AKS-562c |
| Not GLP-1sTracked as regulatory and historical context | ||||
| LOY-002LoyalNot a GLP-1 | Dogs | Company-projected launch before end of 2026Estimated, not company-confirmed | Two of three FDA technical sections accepted: reasonable expectation of effectiveness in February 2025 and target animal safety in January 2026. The manufacturing section remains outstanding. | Full statusFull status for LOY-002 |
| Slentrol (dirlotapide)Pfizer Animal HealthNot a GLP-1 | Dogs | Not applicable | The first and so far only FDA-approved canine weight-loss drug. Approved 2007, voluntarily discontinued in 2013. | Full statusFull status for Slentrol (dirlotapide) |
Nothing in this table is FDA-approved for weight loss in cats or dogs. A programme being in a pivotal study is not an approval, and an expected readout is not a result. Dates marked “estimated” come from reporting or analysis, not from the sponsor. Last verified 2026-08-02.
CNBC and ABC News covered pet GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on July 18 and 19, 2026.
The full trackerGLP-1 Pets tracks every weight-loss drug in the cat and dog pipeline: the trials, the FDA timeline, and the safety data, in plain English.
Okava's MEOW-1 cat trial is dosing now, with topline data estimated summer 2027. What it could mean for your cat.
Read this →Every trial, filing, and realistic approval date for cat and dog GLP-1 drugs.
Read this →No GLP-1 is FDA-approved for pets yet. The honest status, and the risk of jumping early.
Read this →Are there GLP-1 drugs for dogs?
No GLP-1 drug for dogs exists yet. None approved, none prescribable, none in a canine trial. Both GLP-1 programmes in veterinary development are feline: OKV-119 and AKS-562c. Two canine drugs get mistaken for them. Loyal’s LOY-002 is moving through the FDA-CVM conditional-approval pathway, which is a pathway and not a clearance, and is indicated for lifespan extension in senior dogs rather than for weight loss. It is not a GLP-1. Slentrol (dirlotapide) was the first and so far only FDA-approved canine weight-loss drug; it was approved, then withdrawn from the market by its sponsor, and worked by reducing fat absorption rather than through GLP-1.
Owners searching for GLP-1 drugs for dogs are looking at a gap in the pipeline, not a product they missed. The full picture on GLP-1 for dogs covers why both trials went to cats and what is in the canine pipeline instead. The honest status on the brand names is on Ozempic for dogs, and what works for an overweight dog today is on the dog hub.
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Cats lead the field
Okava's OKV-119, an exenatide implant that releases for up to six months, is dosing cats now in the MEOW-1 study. Akston's AKS-562c, a once-weekly injection, is running an 11-week study of 70 cats at Cornell.
What this means for catsDogs are further out
Every announced GLP-1 trial so far is in cats, and a canine programme has yet to be announced. Loyal's LOY-002 is at the FDA for dogs, but it targets lifespan in senior dogs and is neither a GLP-1 nor a weight-loss drug.
What this means for dogsAlso worth reading:what a GLP-1 actually does in a catthe MEOW-1 results watchwhere GLP-1 drugs for dogs actually stand
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Know the day the status changes.
When a trial reads out, a filing moves or an approval lands, that is when we write. The next expected milestone is the AKS-562c readout, estimated H2 2026.
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