FDA Grants Full Approval to Laverdia — The First Oral, At-Home Treatment for Canine Lymphoma

Anivive Lifesciences has converted its conditional FDA approval to full approval for verdinexor tablets. Here's what the drug does, how it got here, and what it means for practitioners managing canine lymphoma.

By Vet Candy Editorial  |  June 2026  |  Oncology & Regulatory News

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine has granted full approval to Laverdia (verdinexor tablets), making it the first FDA-approved oral, at-home treatment for lymphoma in dogs. The drug is developed by Anivive Lifesciences and distributed in the United States through Dechra Veterinary Products.

Lymphoma is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in dogs. For many clients, treatment decisions hinge on factors beyond clinical efficacy — schedule, cost, and the practical demands of bringing a dog in repeatedly for infusions. An oral, at-home option changes the conversation.

From Conditional to Full Approval

This is not a new drug reaching the market for the first time. The FDA granted Anivive conditional approval for Laverdia-CA1 in 2021, allowing the company to market the drug commercially while completing the remaining Technical Efficacy Section requirements for full approval. That work is now complete.

The conversion to full approval reflects the completion of those requirements and represents the standard regulatory pathway for veterinary drugs that demonstrate initial promise and then complete the evidentiary record required for unconditional marketing authorization.

Laverdia is now available through Dechra to veterinarians nationwide. Dechra has indicated it will launch a practitioner and client support program later this summer, including dosing guidance, educational materials, and in-clinic support resources.

How Verdinexor Works

Verdinexor is classified as an XPO1 inhibitor — it selectively blocks nuclear export proteins that cancer cells rely on to survive. By inhibiting XPO1, verdinexor traps tumor suppressor proteins inside cancer cell nuclei, where they can activate cell death pathways. The mechanism was developed in human oncology and adapted for veterinary use.

The drug is administered orally at home, which distinguishes it from IV chemotherapy protocols that require clinic visits. In clinical evaluations conducted as part of the approval pathway, the treatment demonstrated measurable anti-tumor activity with a safety profile the company characterizes as well-tolerated. Practitioners considering Laverdia should review the full prescribing information for adverse event data, contraindications, and monitoring recommendations before recommending it to clients.

The AI Development Story, What It Means and What It Doesn't

Anivive has been explicit that Laverdia also represents the first product to complete what the company calls its AI-enabled development cycle. AniviveSELECT, the company's drug repurposing platform, identified verdinexor as a candidate by analyzing connections between human oncology data and canine disease biology. AniviveTRIAL, its clinical trial enrollment platform, contributed approximately 40% of enrollment in the pivotal study.

These are meaningful claims about process efficiency — identifying a repurposing candidate using computational tools and accelerating trial enrollment through a matching platform are legitimate applications of data infrastructure to drug development. The FDA approval validates the clinical outcome of that process, not the process itself.

Whether AI-assisted drug repurposing becomes a standard pathway for veterinary pharmaceutical development is a question the industry will be watching, but Laverdia's approval is primarily significant as a new clinical option for canine lymphoma patients — the development backstory is context, not the story itself.

Global Approvals in Progress

Anivive is pursuing regulatory approval for Laverdia in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Each jurisdiction operates under its own regulatory framework and timeline, so the U.S. approval does not automatically translate to availability in those markets. Practitioners with international clients or colleagues should note that availability will vary by country.

The company is also investigating verdinexor for other canine and feline cancers and exploring potential antiviral applications in veterinary medicine — though none of those indications have reached the same regulatory milestone as the canine lymphoma approval.

What This Means in the Exam Room

For practitioners managing canine lymphoma patients, Laverdia adds an oral option to a treatment landscape that has historically centered on multi-agent chemotherapy protocols requiring clinic-based administration. It is not positioned as a replacement for existing protocols but as an additional tool that may be appropriate for patients where an at-home oral regimen is clinically suitable and consistent with owner goals and capacity.

Pricing and reimbursement details will be relevant to many clients. Anivive has described affordability as a design goal of the program, though practitioners will want to confirm current pricing through Dechra before quoting clients.

The Dechra support program launching later this summer will be the practical point of contact for dosing guidance and client-facing materials. We'll continue to follow the rollout as additional details become available.

Learn More

Anivive Lifesciences: anivive.com

Dechra Veterinary Products: dechra-us.com

FDA CVM — Drug Approval Database: FDA Animal Drug Approvals

Dr. Craig Clifford on Lymphoma on Vet Candy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeKw3bgzDJc