*******************************************************************
Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for April 8, 2005
Copyright © Brakke Consulting, Inc.
*******************************************************************
NOW AVAILABLE –
PAIN MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS FOR DOGS AND CATS
click here for details
IN THE NEWS:
earnings news:
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica
Evialis
other news
Bayer
GC Hanford
IDEXX
ImproMed
Intervet
Norbrook Labs
Pfizer
Schering-Plough
Triad Specialty Products
United Producers
Veterinary News Network
******************************************************************
COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES
> Boehringer Ingelheim reported results for the full year 2004. Animal health division Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica reported net sales of 335 million euros ($457 million), 6% above 2003, with the greatest sales growth in the USA (+9%). (company website)
> Evialis announced results for the full year 2004. Turnover was 673 million euros ($904 million), a decline of 0.2% compared to 2003. The company performed well internationally, with turnover up 5% to 137 million euros outside France. The company said trading conditions were difficult in France in 2004. (Animal Pharm)
*******************************************************************
NOW AVAILABLE!
PAIN MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS IN DOGS AND CATS
2005 UPDATED REPORT
In March 2004, Brakke Consulting published a report reviewing pain management in small animals, and the products used to treat pain. The new 2005 report updates this report with current sales data on the pain management products used in small animal practice, as well as news on new and developing products in the pain management area. Included are sections on nutraceuticals and, new this year, joint support prescription diets.
The report also includes a survey of approximately 190 small animal veterinarians regarding their usage of pain management products, including NSAIDs, nutraceuticals, and the new joint support therapeutic diets.
The report is immediately available for a price of $5,500.
For more information, contact Dr. Lynn Fondon at lfondon@brakkeconsulting.com or 972-243-4033.
*******************************************************************
COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
> Piedmont Pharmaceuticals’ wholly-owned company, Triad Specialty Products, announced that it has licensed its new equine feed-through fly control product to Pfizer Animal Health. Triad developed the product and received regulatory clearance to market it early last year. Originally marketed as Serene Feed-Through Fly Control by Triad, it will now be marketed under the name of Solitude IGR by Pfizer. The product is a non-organophosphate oral fly control for horses that drastically reduces fly populations in and around barns and stables. (PRNewswire)
> Intervet announced the launch of Continuum DAP, a canine distemper/adenovirus/parvovirus vaccine that is approved for 3 years duration of immunity. (Animal Pharm)
> Schering-Plough Animal Health announced the introduction of Centurion, a new biological tool to aid in the reduction of liver abscesses in fed cattle. Centurion is a toxoid manufactured with a combination of two bacteria involved in the development of liver abscesses. It is the only combination toxoid available. Compared to non-medicated cattle, Centurion vaccinates demonstrated a 37% reduction in liver abscesses. In addition, vaccinates showed positive trends for improved average daily gain and feed efficiency, with improved yield grade and no negative effect on quality grade. (company website)
> IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., in cooperation with ImproMed, Inc., announced the integration of its IDEXX Digital Radiography Systems and IDEXX-PACS Software with ImproMed’s Infinity v4.0 practice-management software. This integration incorporates diagnostic images taken with IDEXX Digital Radiography and diagnostic information accessed directly from ImproMed Infinity Software, providing veterinary customers with a comprehensive patient record. (company website)
> The United States Court of Appeals has dismissed GC Hanford Manufacturing Company’s appeal against an earlier New York District Court decision which restrained the company from utilizing Norbrook Laboratories Limited’s exclusive manufacturing process for the production of penicillin G procaine injectable suspension. In July 2003, a Senior District Judge ruled that Hanford had misappropriated trade secrets of, and competed unfairly with, Norbrook.
(company press release)
> United Producers Inc. and its financial services subsidiary Producers Credit Corp. announced April 1 that they have filed for bankruptcy protection and reorganization after losing a lawsuit involving cattle trading. United Producers and Producers Credit gave clients’ money to Kathleen McConnell and George Young to buy cattle, but the pair used the money to pay off previous debts. United Producers argued that it was unaware of what McConnell and Young were doing and said it, too, was “victimized” by the two cattle traders, but juries in the lawsuits found otherwise and ruled that the company owes producers more than $15 million for misappropriating money. The company is seeking to negotiate settlements with those producers. (Feedstuffs)
> The Veterinary News Network (VNN) announced its debut at the Western Veterinary Conference this year. VNN is a national network of veterinary and affiliate reporters who use VNN-produced news material to broadcast and publish local news stories about current issues and advances in veterinary care. This educational and news initiative is the result of a collaborative relationship between charter sponsor Merial and DVMedia. (company press release)
> UK Bayer Animal Health announced the UK launch of Advocate, a broad spectrum antiparasitic spot-on effective against fleas, flea larvae, roundworm, hookworm, whipworm, heartworm, sarcoptic mange, earmites, and demodex mites. Advocate is composed of imidacloprid and moxidectin, allowing it to target both internal and external parasites. The product is approved for dogs and cats. (Animal Pharm)
******************************************************************
ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
> US – PETITION FILED TO WITHDRAW ANTIBIOTICS Five major medical and environmental groups filed a formal regulatory petition with the FDA urging the agency to withdraw approvals for seven classes of antibiotics for use as agricultural feed additives, citing those uses’ failure to comply with FDA Guidance to protect human health. It designates the seven classes of antibiotics as “critically important” or “highly important” in human medicine. The petitioners include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, Environmental Defense, Food Animal Concerns Trust and Union of Concerned Scientists. In addition, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act was reintroduced in both houses of Congress. The bill would phase out use of these drugs as feed additives within two years unless the FDA determines that continued use does not contribute to antibiotic resistance affecting humans. It does not restrict use of these antibiotics to treat sick animals. The drugs included in the petition include penicillins, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, streptogramins, macrolides, lincomycin, and sulfonamides. (US Newswire)
> NORTH KOREA – NEW AVIAN INFLUENZA SUBTYPE The recent avian influenza outbreaks in North Korea are likely to have been the first in East Asia involving the H7 virus, creating a “new situation” for experts tackling the disease. The 2004 avian flu outbreaks in Delaware and Canada were the H7 strain. (Feedstuffs)
> JAPAN – PETITION TO ALLOW US BEEF IMPORTS Nearly 1.2 million Japanese residents and restaurants have signed a petition urging the government to drop a ban on US beef imports prompted by BSE. The petition was submitted to the Agriculture Ministry last week. US beef is crucial for restaurants serving such inexpensive dishes, because they use cow parts that are unpopular in the US and are inexpensive to import. (Meating Place)
> UK – NEW TEST TO DISTINGUISH BSE AND SCRAPIE The Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) launched a new Discriminatory Diagnostic Kit to distinguish between BSE and scrapie in sheep. Surveillance for prion diseases of small ruminants in the EU Regulation 999/2001 (as amended), requires that from 2005 all samples that are positive on rapid testing should be further screened using an approved discriminatory method. VLA has developed one such method, which has been authorized for use, and involves protein extraction and western blotting technology to differentiate between BSE and scrapie in sheep. This new kit is a modified version of the Prionics – Check technique and provides a cleaner, more defined signal of the abnormal prion protein profile for analysis. (Defra press release)
> UK – CONTAGIOUS EQUINE METRITIS Defra has confirmed a case of Contagious Equine Metritis Organism (CEMO) in a horse in Somerset, UK. CEMO was last confirmed in a stallion and a mare in 2002 and a mare in 2003. The horse in the current case is not believed to have been used for breeding purposes in the UK. Defra has imposed restrictions on the premises housing the infected and any possible “at risk” horses under the Infectious Diseases of Horses Order 1987. (Defra press release)
> UK – BSE CLASSIFICATION The European Food Safety Authority has reclassified the United Kingdom’s risk level for BSE. Because of the dramatic fall in number of cases of BSE, the UK is now to be considered a country with a moderate risk of BSE, putting it on the same footing as all other countries within the EU. Last year, the UK recorded only 82 confirmed cases of BSE compared to 173 in 2003. So far this year, there have been five confirmed cases. At the disease’s height in 1992, the UK recorded 36,680 cases. (Wattnet Meatnews)
> US – ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION With 45 states that have already instituted premises ID programs, USDA says it’s ready to roll out the next phase of the voluntary National Animal Identification System: individual animal ID. Officials plan to roll out this portion of the national system in August. Animal Identification Numbers (AINs) will be issued to the premises and linked to the animals in a way that is appropriate for the species. The Web site www.usda.gov/nais will soon list approved AIN tag manufacturers and AIN tag providers along with product descriptions and contact information. (Drovers)
> CANADA – IMPORT TAX The Canadian government has approved a plan that will serve as retaliation against the US trade practices. Canadian officials plan to impose a 15% tax on live hogs, some fish products and cigarettes. They say the new tax will bring in about $11.6 million (US) annually from the US. The new duty will be imposed beginning May 1. (Pork Alert)
> US – STATE PASSES COOL By a 40-10 vote, the Montana Senate has endorsed a statewide requirement that all meat and other food products sold in the state contain information about where the products were produced. The country-of-origin law, which has already passed the Montana House, would take effect on Oct. 1, 2006. Opponents said that the bill will attract a suit from the Federal government, since it conflicts with present Federal standards. Proponents argue that identical Federal regulations should be in place by the active date; Congress passed a similar bill, but has delayed implementation until 2006. (Meating Place)
> ARGENTINA – TRANSGENIC COW Argentine biotech company BioSidus announced the birth of the first male transgenic calf in the world to carry the human growth hormone (hGH) gene. The calf was created with the idea of producing hGH on an industrial scale to supply the growing global demand for the protein. BioSidus estimates that each animal might produce around 5 kg annually of hGH in its milk. (Animal Pharm)
> US – MASTITIS RESISTANT COWS USDA-ARS researchers have used gene-transfer technologies to produce dairy cows that resist mastitis. A scientific team at the ARS Biotechnology and Germplasm Laboratory built a transgene (genetic material produced using recombinant DNA technology) that includes the genetic code for producing a naturally occurring, antimicrobial protein called lysostaphin. The research shows that the gene for secreting lysostaphin comes from a non-pathogenic species of Staphylococcus that uses the protein to repel its cousin, S. aureus. The scientists introduced this transgene into Jersey cows. The lysostaphin is secreted into milk, where it kills S. aureus, thus protecting cows from becoming infected. Overall, the researchers found that in tests, 71% of the mammary glands that were exposed to S. aureus from nontransgenic animals became infected, compared to only 14% for the transgenic animals. (AnimalNet – ARS)
******************************************************************
AnimalHealthJobs.com
Tip of the Week
Search our Resume Database!
AnimalHealthJobs.com has over 500 jobseekers in its resume database. Registered employers can search the database at NO CHARGE. Contact information is provided based on a success fee arrangement, so you only pay if you find and hire the right person for your open position! Give our no-risk resume search a try.
www.AnimalHealthJobs.com
*******************************************************************
BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
Spring is a great time of the year. It is a time when nature renews itself in many different ways. It is also the time of year when many companies try to renew themselves by moving into long range or strategic planning for the business.
The visionary plans that are developed vary in looking forward in time for 3 to 10 years. The size of the company and the complexity of the products they hope to develop, register and market often determines the length of the planning period.
We’re often asked to provide our views on the various market segments and the market in total. For those of you who have seen our 2005 Industry Overview, you hopefully have a reasonably good idea of how we view a portion of the future.
A couple of this week’s announcements support some of the technology trends we’ve been observing and commenting on for several years. Those are in the area of research being conducted in the animal genome area. We believe that all product categories will be impacted in one way or another by research currently being conducted in this area. We would encourage each manager to keep a close eye on these developing technologies.
We would be pleased to assist your company in the strategic planning process.
Have a great weekend!
Ron Brakke
*******************************************************************
This electronic newsletter is the sole property of Brakke Consulting, Inc.
Any use of the contents herein should be approved by and appropriately attributed to Brakke Consulting, Inc.
For more information about Brakke Consulting’s services and syndicated studies, visit our website at www.brakkeconsulting.com.
Brakke Consulting, Inc.
2735 Villa Creek, Suite 140
Dallas, TX 75234 USA
In order to receive the HTML version instead of the text version of this newsletter, use the link at the bottom of this week’s newsletter that states: “If you would like for us to remove your name from the circulation list, or if you need to change your profile or email address, please click here”.
Then click on the button below your email address that says HTML, and click “Update subscription.”
If you need information about the effect of spam filters on receiving the newsletter, please go to https://brakkeconsulting.com/newsletter/nl-spam.html
English (United States) 
Portuguese