Melengestrol Acetate

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279 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
279
Total Reports
46
Deaths Reported
1650.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Melengestrol Acetate

Administration Routes

OralUnknown

Species Affected

Cattle 256
Unknown 22
Human 1

Most Affected Breeds

Mixed (Cattle) 121
Cattle (other) 46
Cattle (unknown) 42
Crossbred Bovine/Cattle 24
Unknown 24
Holstein-Friesian also known as Holstein 8
Aberdeen Angus 7
Charolais 2
Simmental 1
Jersey 1

Most Reported Reactions

INEFFECTIVE, ESTRUS SUPPRESSIO 110
Lack of efficacy - NOS 79
Death 25
Lameness 19
Increased sexual interest 12
Pneumonia 12
No sign 11
Death by euthanasia 11
Unclassifiable adverse event 11
Sexual disorder NOS (see 'Reproductive' for named sexual disorders) 10
Bloated 9
Rectal prolapse 8

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
200 (69.0%)
Died
36 (12.4%)
Recovered/Normal
33 (11.4%)
Euthanized
12 (4.1%)
Recovered with Sequela
7 (2.4%)
Ongoing
2 (0.7%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 279
Reports involving death 46
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1650.0%
Distinct species in reports 3
Distinct breeds in reports 13
Distinct reactions reported 20
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Melengestrol Acetate Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 279 adverse event reports referencing Melengestrol Acetate, including 46 reports in which the animal died — a 1650.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Melengestrol Acetate. Reported administration routes include Oral, Unknown. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Melengestrol Acetate reports are Cattle (256 reports), Unknown (22 reports), Human (1 reports), with Cattle accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Mixed (Cattle) (121), Cattle (other) (46), Cattle (unknown) (42) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Melengestrol Acetate are INEFFECTIVE, ESTRUS SUPPRESSIO (110), Lack of efficacy - NOS (79), Death (25), Lameness (19). Of the 290 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 69.0%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Melengestrol Acetate.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial