Laverdia-CA1 for Dogs: The First FDA-Approved Oral Lymphoma Treatment

If your dog has been diagnosed with lymphoma, your veterinary oncologist has likely discussed chemotherapy as the primary treatment approach. But there's a newer option that many pet parents are asking about: Laverdia-CA1, the first and only oral tablet fully approved by the FDA for treating lymphoma in dogs.

Here's what you should know about how it works, who it's for, and how it fits into your dog's treatment plan.

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What Is Laverdia-CA1?

Laverdia-CA1 is the brand name for verdinexor, an oral medication developed specifically for canine lymphoma. It received conditional approval from the FDA in January 2021, making it the first oral drug ever approved for treating lymphoma in dogs.² After completing a pivotal field study involving 160 dogs, the FDA granted full approval in January 2026³ — a significant milestone for veterinary oncology.

Before Laverdia, all chemotherapy treatments for canine lymphoma required injectable drugs administered at a veterinary clinic. Laverdia changed that paradigm by offering an at-home oral option, which has been a game-changer for many pet parents and their dogs.

Unlike traditional chemotherapy drugs that work by killing rapidly dividing cells, Laverdia uses a different mechanism called selective inhibition of nuclear export (SINE).⁴ This targeted approach sets it apart from conventional chemotherapy protocols and represents an entirely new class of anti-cancer therapy in veterinary medicine.

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How Does Laverdia Work?

To understand Laverdia, it helps to know a bit about how cancer cells protect themselves. Inside every cell, there are tumor suppressor proteins — the body's natural defense against cancerous growth. In healthy cells, these proteins stay in the nucleus where they can do their job: controlling cell growth and triggering the destruction of damaged cells through a process called apoptosis (programmed cell death).

Cancer cells have found a way around this defense system. They hijack a transport protein called XPO1 (also known as Exportin 1 or CRM1) to shuttle these tumor suppressors out of the nucleus, effectively disabling the cell's built-in safety mechanism. Research has shown that XPO1 is frequently overexpressed in cancer cells, meaning they produce too much of this transport protein to keep tumor suppressors away from where they're needed most.^4,5

Laverdia blocks XPO1, trapping tumor suppressor proteins inside the nucleus where they can reactivate apoptosis — programmed cell death — specifically in the cancer cells. Because this mechanism targets a specific vulnerability in cancer cells rather than attacking all rapidly dividing cells, Laverdia works differently from traditional chemotherapy agents like vincristine, doxorubicin, or cyclophosphamide.

This targeted mechanism means Laverdia can fight cancer while potentially causing fewer side effects than some traditional chemotherapy drugs. It also means Laverdia may be effective in cases where cancer cells have developed resistance to conventional chemotherapy — which is particularly relevant for dogs in relapse.

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How Is Laverdia Administered?

One of the biggest advantages of Laverdia is convenience. It's given as an oral tablet at home, twice a week, with at least 72 hours between doses⁶ (for example, Monday and Thursday, or Tuesday and Friday). This means fewer trips to the veterinary clinic compared to injectable chemotherapy protocols like the CHOP protocol, which typically requires weekly or biweekly visits over a period of 19 to 25 weeks.

The tablets should be given on an empty stomach, and your veterinarian will determine the appropriate dose based on your dog's body weight. There are some important safety precautions to follow when handling Laverdia at home: gloves should be worn when handling the tablets, and they should not be split, broken, or crushed. If a tablet is accidentally dropped, it should be picked up immediately and disposed of properly. Hands should be washed thoroughly after handling the medication.

Your veterinarian will schedule regular check-ups and blood work monitoring, typically every 1 to 2 weeks initially, to ensure your dog is tolerating the medication well. The frequency of monitoring may decrease once your vet is confident that your dog is handling the treatment without significant complications.

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How Effective Is Laverdia?

Laverdia's effectiveness has been evaluated in multiple clinical studies. In the pivotal clinical field trial that led to full FDA approval — involving 160 dogs with both B-cell and T-cell lymphoma — dogs treated with Laverdia experienced a significantly longer time to disease progression compared to the placebo control group: 37 days versus 23 days (P = .011).²

While these numbers may seem modest compared to multi-agent chemotherapy protocols, it's important to understand the context. Many of the dogs in these studies had already failed other treatments — meaning Laverdia was being tested as a rescue therapy, not a first-line option. For dogs who have stopped responding to conventional chemotherapy, any additional time in stable disease or remission is meaningful.

In an earlier Phase II study published in BMC Veterinary Research, treatment with single-agent verdinexor resulted in an overall objective response rate of 37%.⁵ Notably, dogs with T-cell lymphoma showed a particularly strong response rate of 71%⁵ — which is significant because T-cell lymphomas are generally more difficult to treat and have worse outcomes with traditional chemotherapy.

Laverdia can be used as a standalone treatment or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs, and many oncologists are finding it most valuable as part of a broader treatment strategy — especially for dogs in relapse or as a maintenance therapy after achieving remission with other protocols.

If you want to understand all the treatment options available for canine lymphoma, we cover the full range in our treatment guide.

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What Are the Side Effects?

Like all cancer treatments, Laverdia does come with potential side effects. The most commonly reported ones in clinical trials include:

• Loss of appetite (anorexia) — the most frequently observed side effect
• Weight loss
• Vomiting and diarrhea
• Lethargy and decreased activity
• Increased thirst (polydipsia) and urination (polyuria)
• Elevated liver enzymes (hepatotoxicity)
• Low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia)
• Low white blood cell counts (neutropenia)⁶

The gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite) are the ones pet parents notice most frequently. These can usually be managed with anti-nausea medications prescribed by your veterinarian, such as maropitant (Cerenia) or ondansetron. Feeding a small bland meal a few hours after giving the tablet may also help settle the stomach.

Your veterinarian will monitor your dog's blood work regularly while on Laverdia to catch any issues early — particularly liver enzyme elevations and changes in blood cell counts. If significant side effects develop, your vet may adjust the dose, temporarily pause treatment, or add supportive medications. You can learn more about managing chemotherapy side effects in dogs on our blog.

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Is Laverdia Right for Your Dog?

Laverdia may be a good option for dogs in several situations: as a first-line treatment for pet parents who prefer an at-home oral option over injectable chemotherapy, as part of a combination protocol designed by your oncologist, as a rescue treatment for dogs whose lymphoma has relapsed after initial chemotherapy, as maintenance therapy to help extend remission after initial treatment, or for cases where frequent clinic visits for injectable chemo aren't feasible due to distance, schedule, or the stress it causes your dog.

However, every dog's lymphoma is different. The type of lymphoma (B-cell vs. T-cell), the stage of disease, your dog's overall health, liver and kidney function, and how they've responded to previous treatments all factor into whether Laverdia is the best choice. Dogs with pre-existing liver disease or significant liver enzyme elevations may not be ideal candidates, since Laverdia can affect liver function.

It's also important to have realistic expectations. While Laverdia represents an exciting advance in veterinary oncology, it is not a cure for lymphoma. Like all lymphoma treatments, it aims to control the disease, extend quality time, and keep your dog comfortable for as long as possible.

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How Does Laverdia Compare to CHOP Chemotherapy?

CHOP remains the gold standard for treating canine lymphoma, with complete remission rates of 80–90% and median survival times of 12 to 14 months for B-cell lymphoma.¹ Laverdia, as a single agent, does not match these response rates — but that's not necessarily how it should be compared.

Laverdia fills a different niche in the treatment landscape. It offers an oral at-home option for dogs who cannot tolerate or have failed injectable chemotherapy. It provides a novel mechanism of action that may work when traditional drugs no longer do. And it can be combined with other agents to potentially enhance overall treatment effectiveness.

Your veterinary oncologist is the best person to advise on whether Laverdia should be your dog's first-line treatment, a combination therapy, or a rescue option after relapse. The right answer depends entirely on your dog's specific situation.

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Choosing the Best Treatment for Your Dog

The most important thing you can do is work with a veterinary oncologist who can evaluate your dog's specific situation and recommend the treatment most likely to succeed. Not every dog responds to every drug the same way — and that's where precision medicine comes in.

ImpriMed's Personalized Prediction Profile tests your dog's actual cancer cells against a comprehensive panel of chemotherapy drugs used in standard protocols like CHOP to predict which treatments will be most effective for your dog's unique cancer. This takes the guesswork out of treatment selection and helps your oncologist build the best possible plan — whether that includes traditional multi-agent chemotherapy or a completely customized protocol.

Find out how ImpriMed can help your dog get the right treatment from the start.