Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have proven effective and safe in a wide variety of human diseases, in particular in the treatment of many cancers, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Application of mAbs to treat veterinary disease has been limited by several factors, including technology required to make species-specific mAbs, reducing cost of production to meet the expectations of the veterinary market and regulatory uncertainty in certain countries. I will discuss our attempts to overcome these factors using the example of an anti-nerve growth factor (NGF) mAb converted for treating pain due to osteoarthritis and other degenerative joint disease in dogs, cats and horses.