The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products Veterinary Medicines Evaluation Unit

1. Flunixin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and a non-narcotic analgesic with antipyretic activities. In veterinary medicine, it is used with meglumine as solubilizer as flunixin meglumine. Flunixin meglumine is used in the alleviation of inflammation and pain associated with musculo-skeletal disorders and colic in horses; the control of acute inflammation associated with infectious diseases in cattle and as an aid in the treatment of mastitis metritis agalactia syndrome (MMA) in sows. Flunixin meglumine is available in injectable, granular and paste formulations and can be administered by the intravenous, intramuscular and oral routes in horses at the recommended therapeutic dose of 1.1 mg/kg bw once a day for up to 5 days. A dose of 2.2 mg/kg bw by the intravenous route once a day for up to 3 days is indicated for bovines, whilst 2.2 mg/kg bw intramuscularly (up to 2 injections, 12 hours apart) is recommended for sows affected by MMA syndrome. Flunixin meglumine is also used in veterinary medicine in combination with oxytetracycline for the treatment of bovine pneumonia at a dose of 2 mg/kg bw (once a day for 3 to 5 days by the intravenous or the intramuscular routes).