In Australia the monthly arthritis injection sold overseas as Librela is registered under a different brand name: Beransa. Same active ingredient — bedinvetmab, a caninised anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibody from Zoetis — same 0.5–1.0 mg/kg monthly subcutaneous dose, different label on the box. The APVMA itself describes it as "Beransa Solution for Injection for Dogs (also known as Bedinvetmab, or 'Librela' overseas)." It is a Schedule 4 prescription animal remedy, available only through your vet.
If you have been searching for Librela and finding American pages, that name confusion is why. This guide covers the Australian registration, the two APVMA label updates, what the trials actually found, the safety argument now running through the Australian profession, and where daily joint nutrition belongs. Not yet diagnosed? Start with arthritis in dogs symptoms.
What bedinvetmab does — and what it does not do
A damaged, inflamed joint releases nerve growth factor. NGF sensitises the nerves around that joint so that ordinary movement registers as pain. Bedinvetmab is an antibody built to bind NGF before it reaches those nerves (Gearing et al., BMC Veterinary Research 2013). It is cleared slowly — mean half-life after a first dose was 19.1 days — which is what makes monthly dosing possible.
It is an analgesic. It does not rebuild cartilage, does not slow joint degeneration and does not treat the underlying disease. Every Australian dog on Beransa still has progressing osteoarthritis; the difference is how much of it the dog feels. Vets pair it with weight management, controlled exercise and daily nutrition for exactly that reason.
The Australian registration, in detail
- Registered by the APVMA — the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority — in September 2022, on an application from Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd. The evaluation was published for consultation in APVMA Gazette No. 14 on 12 July 2022.
- Five strengths: Beransa 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 mg Solution for Injection for Dogs.
- Schedule 4. Bedinvetmab falls under the Schedule 4 generic entry for monoclonal antibodies in the SUSMP, which means prescription-only supply through a vet. Products in this class carry the APVMA signal heading "PRESCRIPTION ANIMAL REMEDY".
- Two label updates since launch. In August 2024 the side-effect list was updated on application from the registrant, to reflect the Australian experience and align with overseas jurisdictions. On 8 August 2025 a further update added, as rare, urinary incontinence, lethargy, gastrointestinal signs, anorexia and ataxia, and as very rare, behavioural changes, musculoskeletal disorders such as weakness, and neurological events such as seizures.
- No suspension, no recall. The APVMA has stated it reached similar conclusions to comparable international regulators and that side effects are rare to very rare when the product is used according to label.
Two label expansions in twelve months is not a scandal and it is not nothing. It is what an active pharmacovigilance system looks like on a product that has only been on the Australian market since 2022.
Does it work? The numbers, not the brochure
| Study | Design | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Corral et al., Vet Anaesth Analg 2021 (287 dogs) | Placebo-controlled, monthly dosing | Day 28 treatment success 43.5% vs 16.9% on placebo; 50.8% at day 56 |
| Michels et al., Vet Anaesth Analg 2023 (272 dogs) | Placebo-controlled | Day 28 success 47.4% vs 36.6% placebo — number needed to treat 9.3, effect size 0.3; by day 84, NNT 4.3 |
| Innes et al., Front Vet Sci 2025 (101 dogs) | Randomised, bedinvetmab vs oral meloxicam | Both cut Canine Orthopaedic Index scores significantly; the gap between them was not statistically significant. 4 adverse events on bedinvetmab vs 17 on meloxicam, nine gastrointestinal |
Read the third row carefully, because it reframes the decision. Against a cheap, familiar NSAID, bedinvetmab did not deliver measurably better pain relief — it delivered fewer adverse events and better study completion. For a dog whose stomach cannot tolerate an NSAID, or one on medication that rules NSAIDs out, that is a genuinely strong argument. As a blanket upgrade for every arthritic dog, the evidence is thinner than the marketing suggests.
One more thing worth knowing before you judge the first month: Conzemius and Evans measured a caregiver placebo effect of roughly 40% when owners assessed lameness in arthritic dogs. Take a ten-second video of your dog rising and walking on injection day, and another two weeks later. Compare the footage, not your memory of it.
The safety debate, and what Australian regulators and clinicians have actually said
On the current Australian label the serious events sit at rare and very rare frequencies. The argument in the profession is about whether spontaneous reporting has surfaced a real musculoskeletal signal or an artefact of a heavily discussed new drug.
- Farrell et al. (Front Vet Sci 2025) ran a specialist-led disproportionality analysis of the EMA's EudraVigilance database against six comparator drugs. Ligament and tendon injury, polyarthritis, fracture, musculoskeletal neoplasia and septic arthritis were reported about nine times more frequently in bedinvetmab-treated dogs than in all comparators combined; an 18-member expert panel reviewing 19 cases unanimously reported a strong suspicion of a causal association with accelerated joint destruction. Three published Comments in the same journal contest it, and disproportionality analysis of voluntary reports cannot by itself prove causation.
- Monteiro et al. (Front Vet Sci 2025), authored by Zoetis staff with academic collaborators, reported 18,102,535 doses sold to 30 June 2024 against 17,162 canine adverse events — 9.48 per 10,000 treated animals. Australia was among the top eight markets by size and among the top five by reporting frequency. Median age of dogs with a reported event was 12 years.
- An Australian appraisal. Yang and colleagues published a critical appraisal of the safety of bedinvetmab in the Australian Veterinary Journal (2026;104:549-556), arguing that rapidly progressive osteoarthritis is not a defined entity in dogs and that causation linked to bedinvetmab is unproven. It is the most useful single document for an Australian owner who wants the profession's own reading rather than a wire story.
Separately, in April 2025 the ABC reported that a group of Australian pet owners was preparing a class action against the manufacturer over dog deaths. That is litigation and journalism, not a regulatory finding, and it should be weighed as such — the APVMA's position after reviewing the reports was to expand the label, not to withdraw the product.
The practical takeaway is unglamorous and useful: if your dog develops a new swollen or painful joint while on Beransa, ask for imaging and ask your vet to report it. Regulators everywhere have noted how few musculoskeletal reports arrive with radiographs attached, which is precisely what keeps the question unresolved.
Where daily joint nutrition fits for an Australian dog
Australia is a dog country — 49% of households own one, around 7.4 million dogs, according to Animal Medicines Australia's 2025 report. And the national breed mix is unhelpfully weighted toward joint disease. Dogs Australia's 2025 registrations were led by the Golden Retriever (3,776), Labrador Retriever (3,672), Staffordshire Bull Terrier (2,757), German Shepherd (1,483) and Rottweiler (1,164) — the classic hip and elbow dysplasia breeds sitting at the top of the list.
Two things reduce arthritic pain with better evidence than any supplement claim: bodyweight and heat management. Weight loss alone measurably reduced lameness in obese arthritic dogs in both Impellizeri's and Marshall's studies. And the RSPCA's advice to walk in the cooler parts of the day, plus the five-second pavement test, matters more for a stiff arthritic dog than for a fit young one — a dog that is already reluctant to move will not tell you it is overheating until late.
On supplements themselves, the largest meta-analysis in the field is blunt. Barbeau-Grégoire and colleagues ranked omega-3-enriched diets and omega-3 supplements at the top for analgesic efficacy, found only weak support for collagen, and reported a "very marked non-effect" of chondroitin-glucosamine products for pain. We publish that plainly even though glucosamine is in our own range, because it is the reason our formula looks the way it does rather than the way the shelf does.
Hip & Joint Chews for dogs carry 18 active ingredients — including the omega-3 and green-lipped mussel components the evidence actually favours — instead of the two-ingredient glucosamine-chondroitin pairing that dominates the category. For dogs that spit chews out, or seniors whose appetite is unreliable, liquid glucosamine for dogs pours straight over food. Both are made in North America under GMP conditions with a certificate of analysis on every batch, and both ship free worldwide — Australia included. The full range is in the dog joint and hip supplements collection, and the best joint supplements for dogs guide explains the comparison method.
One regulatory point Australian owners should know, because it is stricter here than in Europe. The APVMA exempts animal feed products from registration only while they make no therapeutic claim, and its disqualifying list explicitly names musculoskeletal disease and conditions. A supplement that stays within nutritional support language is a feed; the moment it claims to treat arthritis it becomes a veterinary product requiring registration. So when you read a supplement label in Australia that promises to treat your dog's arthritis, the claim is not just optimistic — it is a regulatory problem.
When to call your vet
Contact your practice promptly if a dog on Beransa develops a newly swollen or painful joint, a sudden worsening of lameness, an inability to bear weight, wobbliness or loss of coordination, a seizure, weakness or dragging of the hind legs, facial swelling or intense itching after an injection, or collapse. Tell your vet before the first dose if your dog has any history of immune-mediated disease or seizures.
Never fill a gap with a human painkiller. Ibuprofen, naproxen and paracetamol are all dangerous to dogs.
The realistic way to think about it
Beransa is a well-characterised monthly analgesic with a better gastrointestinal profile than an NSAID, a modest average effect, a musculoskeletal signal that regulators have responded to by expanding the label rather than pulling the product, and an Australian evidence discussion that is still open. It controls pain in a dog whose arthritis keeps advancing. Bodyweight, sensible exercise in Australian heat, and daily nutrition weighted toward the ingredients with actual evidence remain the parts you control. See how to help a dog with arthritis at home, dog arthritis medicine for the wider prescription picture, Adequan for dogs for the other injectable, and dog joint and hip health complete guide for the full cluster. Undiagnosed stiffness belongs in dog limping. The international version of this article is Librela for dogs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Beransa the same thing as Librela?
Yes. Both are bedinvetmab from Zoetis. The APVMA's own statement describes Beransa as "also known as Bedinvetmab, or 'Librela' overseas". Australia uses the Beransa brand name; the US, UK and EU use Librela. The active ingredient, dose and monthly schedule are the same.
Do I need a prescription for Beransa in Australia?
Yes. Bedinvetmab sits under the Schedule 4 generic entry for monoclonal antibodies in the SUSMP, so it is a prescription animal remedy available only through a vet, who gives it as a subcutaneous injection.
Has the APVMA taken action over Beransa side effects?
The APVMA has updated the label twice — in August 2024 and on 8 August 2025 — adding rare events including urinary incontinence, lethargy, gastrointestinal signs, anorexia and ataxia, and very rare events including behavioural changes, musculoskeletal disorders and neurological events such as seizures. It has not suspended or recalled the product and has said it reached similar conclusions to comparable international regulators.
Can my dog have a joint supplement while on Beransa?
Ask your own vet, who knows the full medication list. A joint supplement is a feed product working on daily nutritional support, not an analgesic that blocks pain signalling, so the two are not substitutes for each other. Disclose everything your dog receives, supplements included.
How long before I know whether it is working?
The pivotal trials measured treatment success at day 28, with response rates improving after a second dose. If there is no useful response after two doses the product information directs the vet to consider alternatives. Film ten seconds of your dog moving on day one and again a fortnight later — owners of placebo-treated dogs reported improvement around 40% of the time.
References
- APVMA. Beransa canine injections — updated labels.
- APVMA Gazette No. 14, 12 July 2022 (evaluation of Beransa, Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd). PDF
- Gearing DP et al. A fully caninised anti-NGF monoclonal antibody for pain relief in dogs. BMC Vet Res 2013;9:226. PMID 24206926
- Corral MJ et al. Vet Anaesth Analg 2021;48(6):943-955. PMID 34565678
- Michels GM et al. Vet Anaesth Analg 2023;50(5):446-458. PMID 37541934
- Innes JF et al. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1502218. PMID 40196808
- Farrell M et al. Musculoskeletal adverse events in dogs receiving bedinvetmab. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1581490. PMID 40417367
- Monteiro BP et al. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1558222. PMID 40343372
- Yang et al. A critical appraisal of the safety of bedinvetmab (Beransa). Aust Vet J 2026;104:549-556. doi:10.1111/avj.70088
- Conzemius MG, Evans RB. JAVMA 2012;241(10):1314-1319. PMID 23113523
- Barbeau-Grégoire M et al. Int J Mol Sci 2022;23(18):10384. PMID 36142319
- Marshall WG et al. Vet Res Commun 2010;34(3):241-253. PMID 20237844
- Animal Medicines Australia. Pets in Australia 2025.
- Dogs Australia (ANKC). Registration statistics 2018-2025.
This article is educational and is not veterinary advice. Beransa and Librela are registered trademarks of Zoetis; Pure Majesty Pets is not affiliated with Zoetis. Prescription decisions belong to your own vet, who can examine your dog. Pure Majesty Pets supplements are nutritional products, not registered veterinary medicines: they are not evaluated by the APVMA, and they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.