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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for November 27, 2002
Copyright © Brakke Consulting, Inc.
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Happy Thanksgiving. The newsletter is being broadcast this week on Wednesday rather than Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. We hope everyone in the US enjoys their holiday.
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GET READY!
Brakke Consulting’s 2002 US Flea Control and Heartworm Markets will be available the first week of December, immediately after the US Thanksgiving holiday.
This year’s report will include an all-new survey of 250 dog and cat owners, as well as a new veterinarian survey. Product sales and trends for the veterinary products, as well as an overview of the trends in OTC sales, will also be included in the report.
The report will be available until December 20, 2002 at an early-order price of $3,500. Studies ordered after the Christmas holiday will be priced at $4,000.
For more information, call 972-243-4033 or email Dr. Lynn Fondon at lfondon@brakkeconsulting.com.
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
> IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. announced it has been informed verbally by the FDA that the FDA expects to provide further comments to the Company regarding its application for approval of nitazoxanide. As a result the Company anticipates an additional delay in the introduction of nitazoxanide. Nitazoxanide is a product for the treatment of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). (Business Wire)
> Smithfield Foods it is still interested in buying the beef and pork operations of bankrupt U.S. farm cooperative Farmland Industries. Smithfield has been after Farmland since May. (Meating Place)
> Fairbanks Farms of Ashville, N.Y., a meat processing company, is voluntarily recalling about 320,000 pounds of fresh ground beef products distributed nationwide that may be contaminated with potentially deadly E. coli bacteria. (AP)
> Genome Prairie, Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pyxis Genomics Inc. announced the commencement of a major $27 million strategic alliance aimed at understanding the mechanisms by which pathogens such as bacteria infect
humans and animals. The project will apply genomics to the study of pathogens and their hosts, and the influence each may have on the genes of both. The overall goal of the project will be to identify new mechanisms of disease, which may lead to the development of new medicines for the treatment of infectious diseases in both humans and animals. (company press release)
> Greater Omaha Packing Co. was certified on Nov. 12 by the Agriculture Department FSIS Export Division to export non-hormone treated fresh and frozen beef to the European Union. The Non-Hormone Treated Beef to the European Union Program Certification requires the processor to trace back product to each individual animal’s birth, working in concert with approved and accredited feedlots and producers. Each animal harvested must demonstrate identification and traceability for non-hormone treatment from birth on the farm through feeding, transport to the packing plant, slaughtering, chilling, fabrication of individual boxed beef cuts, storage, distribution and finally, export to the EU markets. The Omaha, Neb.-based beef packer is one of the largest privately owned U.S. cattle processing operations. (company information)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING, INC.
NYC OVERVIEW SOLD OUT
We have more than filled the room for our NYC Presentation on December 2nd. We cannot accept any additional registrations. Thanks to all of you that have registered. We’ll see you there.
The next Animal Health and Nutrition Industry Overview will be presented at the NAVC in Orlando, FL on Monday, January 20th. You will be able to begin registering on-line December 2nd for Orlando.
The Orlando 2003 Animal Health and Nutrition presentation will include information including sales estimates for 2002 along with forecasts in the future, including the outlook for leading companies and products. The focus will be on the US with some international aspects. Some specific areas are:
– the evolving pain management market
– pet nutrition
– food safety and animal welfare and its impact on industry
– impact of generic products on the market place
– evolving and changing manufacturer distributor relationships
– changes in the flea, tick, and heartworm markets
There will be a fee of $300 per attendee, with discounts for multiple registrations from one company. Attendees will be provided with an outline of the presentation at the time of the overview.
For registration information, please call 972-243-4033 or register online at www.brakkeconsulting.com after December 2nd. Registration for the Orlando overview will not be available online until that date.
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
> UK – A Scottish man, who was the first person in a century to contract rabies in Britain, died Sunday from the effects of his bat bite, officials said. (AP)
> US – A Black Persian male cat was named the world’s most beautiful cat as “Best-in-Show” from a field of more than 1,300 pedigreed felines showcased at the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) International Cat Show held Nov. 22-24 in Houston, Texas. (PRNewswire)
> US – Mexico’s most-feared drug cartel put a price on his head. Over the years, his keen senses routinely frustrated smugglers by sniffing out 33 tons of drugs valued at more than $306 million. This week Officer Krowbar retired from the U.S. Customs Service, praised by agency officials as the best drug dog ever to work at the world’s busiest border crossing. Krowbar never stopped working. He turns 10 in a few months and he’s earned a well-deserved rest in the backyard of the home of his handler, Officer Steve Ralston.
In a ceremony Tuesday marking the end of the dog’s days working what agents call “the line,’’ Ralston slipped the U.S. Customs Service dog collar off Krowbar’s neck and replaced it with a plain black one. Krowbar began his retirement by gnawing contentedly on a farewell gift: a foot-long rawhide bone. Customs also gave him a small red fire hydrant that will sit in his backyard. (AP)
> US – As an additional tribute to the Search and Rescue dogs of 9-11, the American Kennel Club’s DOGNY program has produced a full-color hardcover gift book. The 144 page book, which features colored photos of the over 100 life-size DOGNY sculptures that were displayed throughout Manhattan for over three months is available in bookstores. (PRNewswire)
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AGRIBUSINESS NEWS
> As grocery shoppers in the US head to the stores to purchase Thanksgiving Day meal items, they may notice a dip in costs. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual informal survey has found that the price of basic items on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table – for a feast of 10 – is $34.56, a 48-cent drop from last year’s survey average of $35.04. (DirectAg.com)
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filed a complaint against Canton, Ohio-based Fresh Mark Inc. for violation of federal laws on the reporting of a hazardous chemical release. The EPA said that on June 22, 2002, a broken refrigeration system valve released about 7,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia from the company’s sausage plant in Canton. The release lasted about three years and the plant was evacuated at the time of the incident, according to EPA. (meating place)
> Tyson Foods said that they would not pay a $100 million fine that would allow them to avoid the prosecution of two executives and four former managers on charges of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras to work in its poultry plants. Tyson called the fine excessive and accused the government of using undercover agents to entrap Tyson employees.
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
We all have so much to be thankful for in the US this Thanksgiving week. With most businesses closed from today (Wednesday) until next Monday, we will have the opportunity to spend time with families and friends. We should all utilize some of this time to reflect on the many blessings and gifts that we have received during this year and prior years.
I want to personally thank all of our readers, clients, and consultants for your support in 2002. The best to all of you this Holiday Season. Enjoy and travel safe.
[Ron Brakke]
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