Pet Drug Reports

Pimobendan (Vetmedin)adverse event reports that FDA received

Active ingredient

The name in brackets is a brand name with this active ingredient.

The openFDA records give the value "MSK" for the brand name and for the manufacturer name of each drug. FDA says that MSK means "masked". So the site cannot count a report for a brand.

Read this first. FDA says this about the data:

An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another. When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event. This dataset should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision-making or other assumptions about the safety or effectiveness of a product. The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine publishes these words. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices, read on . The data have the reports that FDA received through .

This page is not veterinary advice. For an animal that is ill, speak to a veterinarian.

Contacting a veterinarianHow to report to FDA

From March 2003 to June 2026, FDA received 6,809 adverse event reports that name a drug with pimobendan as its active ingredient. Of the 6,809 reports, 5,694 (83.6%) are about dogs. 145 reports are about cats (2.1%).

In January to March 2026, FDA received 152 reports that name this drug. The signs that appear in the largest number of the 6,809 reports are "Vomiting", "Diarrhoea" and "Lethargy". A report is not proof that a drug caused a sign.

Reports that name this drug fell by 3.8% in the 12 months to June 2026, compared with the 12 months before. Reports for all animal drugs fell by 4.6% in the same periods. The newest months can get more reports in a later update. Reports about dogs are 83.6% of the reports that name this drug, and 72.6% of all reports.

Since the last update of the FDA data

The site recorded an update of the FDA data on . FDA changed these counts for January to March 2026:

  • All species: from 98 to 152.
  • Dog: from 76 to 108.
  • Other species or species not given: from 19 to 41.

January to March 2026 is the latest closed quarter in the data. In that quarter FDA received 152 reports that name pimobendan: 108 dog, 3 cat, 0 horse, 41 other or not given.

All updatesFeed of updates (RSS)

Signs that the reports list

A sign is a coded term from the report. The words in brackets are a plain gloss of the term. The percentage is the share of the 6,809 reports that list the sign. One report can list more than one sign.

The sign that is in the largest number of the reports comes first.

  1. Vomiting14%955 reports
  2. Diarrhoea[diarrhea]12.6%856 reports
  3. Lethargy[unusually tired or inactive]10.3%701 reports
  4. Death6.3%429 reports
  5. Cough6.3%426 reports
  6. Tablets, Abnormal[a product quality report, not a sign in an animal]5.8%395 reports
  7. Anorexia[not eating]5.6%382 reports
  8. Death by euthanasia[the animal was euthanized]5.5%376 reports
  9. Seizure NOS[seizure, type not specified]3.5%239 reports
  10. Accidental exposure[exposure that was not intended]3.3%226 reports
  11. Lack of efficacy - NOS[the product did not have the expected effect]3.3%223 reports
  12. Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN)[a kidney value above the normal range]3.2%221 reports
  13. Decreased appetite3.2%217 reports
  14. Not eating2.9%198 reports
Show the next 16 signs
  1. Ataxia[unsteady, uncoordinated movement]2.8%193 reports
  2. Weight loss2.7%187 reports
  3. Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT)[a liver enzyme above the normal range]2.7%186 reports
  4. Tachycardia[fast heart rate]2.7%184 reports
  5. Overdose[more than the labelled amount was given]2.3%160 reports
  6. Panting2.3%159 reports
  7. Product Defect, General[a product quality report, not a sign in an animal]2.1%142 reports
  8. Elevated serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP)[a liver and bone enzyme above the normal range]2.1%140 reports
  9. Elevated creatinine[a kidney value above the normal range]2%135 reports
  10. Polydipsia[drinking more than usual]2%134 reports
  11. Depression[dull, quiet or withdrawn]1.9%131 reports
  12. Behavioural disorder NOS[behaviour change, type not specified]1.8%124 reports
  13. Polyuria[passing more urine than usual]1.8%123 reports
  14. Shaking1.8%121 reports
  15. Restlessness1.6%111 reports
  16. Loose stool1.6%109 reports

The list shows 30 of 1,330 coded signs. A report is not proof that a drug caused a sign. Download all signs (CSV)

Reports by species

  • Dog83.6%5,694
  • Cat2.1%145
  • Human exposure0.6%39
  • Rabbitunder 0.1%3
  • Other Birdsunder 0.1%2
  • Chinchillaunder 0.1%1

The share is of all 6,809 reports that name pimobendan. The other reports give a different species or no species.

Reports for each month, Jul 2021 to Jun 2026

Dog2,802 reports. Largest count in one month: 97 (Sep 2023)
Cat54 reports. Largest count in one month: 5 (Dec 2025)
Horse0 reports

No chart: no month has 5 or more reports.

Other or not given416 reports. Largest count in one month: 17 (May 2025)

The month is the month in which FDA received the report. Each chart has its own scale. FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.

Reports by year

  • Dog
  • Cat
  • Horse
  • Other or not given
Reports that name pimobendan, by the year in which FDA received them and by species
YearDogCatHorseOther or not givenAll species
20262345064303
2025481220113616
202469110056757
20237799049837
20224847087578
20212371080318
202023912070321
20192727063342
20182717070348
20172276073306
20161849036229
20152055048258
20141742023199
20132028021231
201223113029273
201116012023195
20101420036178
20091842018204
20081847010201
2007104101106
200640004
200520002
200330003

2026 has the reports that FDA received through Jun 2026. Download the years (CSV)

What the reports record

Outcome at the time of the report

  • Recovered/Normal23.1%1,571
  • Recovered with Sequela[recovered, with a lasting effect]0.5%34
  • Ongoing9.8%666
  • Died7.3%496
  • Euthanized4.6%315
  • Outcome Unknown30.1%2,049

An outcome in a report is not proof that the drug caused it. The person who sends the report gives the outcome. Each share is of the 6,809 reports that name pimobendan.

A report about more than one animal can have more than one outcome.

Kind of report

  • Safety issue80.5%5,480
  • Lack of expected effectiveness2.7%186
  • Both safety and lack of expected effectiveness2.2%149
  • Manufacturing or product defect14.6%992
  • Otherunder 0.1%2

4,959 reports say if the event was serious. 39.4% of them have the serious flag. The person who sends the report sets the flag.

Show age, weight, breed and route

Age of the animal

  • Under 1 year1.2%85
  • 1 to 3 years1.8%120
  • 4 to 7 years5.3%359
  • 8 to 11 years30.5%2,080
  • 12 years and over39.9%2,717
  • Age not given21.3%1,448

Weight of the animal

  • Under 5 kg (11 lb)20.3%1,383
  • 5 to 9.9 kg (11 to 22 lb)32.8%2,236
  • 10 to 24.9 kg (22 to 55 lb)16.7%1,137
  • 25 to 44.9 kg (55 to 99 lb)5.8%395
  • 45 kg and over (99 lb and over)1.3%88
  • Weight not given23.1%1,570

Breed, where the report gives one breed

A breed with many animals has many reports.

Route in the report

  • Oral73.3%4,993
  • Topical0.1%9
  • Otherunder 0.1%2
  • Cutaneousunder 0.1%1
  • Intravenousunder 0.1%1
  • Ophthalmicunder 0.1%1

Each bar is on a scale of 0 to 100%.

Approved animal drugs with this active ingredient (FDA Green Book)

This section is reference data. It has no report count.

The openFDA records give the value "MSK" for the brand name and for the manufacturer name of each drug. FDA says that MSK means "masked". So the site cannot count a report for a brand.

Brand names

  • Vetmedin

What the Green Book records give

Applications with an approval in force
3
Approved species
Dogs
Dose forms
Chewable Tablets, Solution, Tablet (Chewable)
Routes
Oral
Sale
RX (prescription)
Earliest approval date in the records

The species, dose forms and routes are the words of the Green Book records for all the applications together. One product can have fewer. The label of a product gives its approved use.

Applications in the Green Book of 2 Nov 2026, pioneer applications (NADA) first
Brand nameActive ingredientsSponsorApproved speciesApplication
VetmedinPimobendanBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA, Inc.DogsNADA 141-273
Vetmedin SolutionPimobendanBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA, Inc.DogsNADA 141-575
Pimobendan Chewable TabletsPimobendanCronus Pharma Specialities India Private Ltd.DogsANADA 200-728

Next in the A to Z list

All drugs by active ingredient. Brand names A to Z

FDA pages for this drug

The site checked these addresses on . The links open in a new tab.

Cite this page

Pet Drug Reports. Pimobendan: adverse event reports that FDA received. https://petdrugreports.com/drug/pimobendan/ Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event reports, export of . Reports received through .

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Where the data come from

The counts come from the openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event files, export of 30 Oct 2026. The files have the reports that the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine received through 26 Jun 2026. The files mask brand and manufacturer names. The site counts a drug by the active ingredients that each record gives, and gives no count to a brand, an application or a company. Ingredient names and the lists of approved products follow the FDA Green Book of 2 Nov 2026. The site does not use the application number that a record has.

The site does not publish report text, lot numbers or details of a reporter. FDA's record is the authority. See how the site counts reports, the data sources and the corrections page.

Questions about these reports

Which brand are these reports about?

The openFDA records give the value "MSK" for the brand name and for the manufacturer name of each drug. FDA says that MSK means "masked". So the site cannot count a report for a brand. The Green Book section of this page lists the brand names with this active ingredient.

Do the reports show that the drug caused the signs?

No. FDA states this about the data.

When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event.

The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices

How many reports did FDA receive in the latest 12 months?

FDA received 626 reports in the 12 months to June 2026. It received 651 reports in the 12 months before. FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.

What kinds of report are in the count?

Of the 6,809 reports received from March 2003 to June 2026, 80.5% are about a safety issue only. 4.9% are about a lack of expected effectiveness, alone or with a safety issue. 14.6% are about a defect of the product or its package.