Animal Health News & Notes for February 1, 2002

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for February 1, 2002
Copyright © Brakke Consulting, Inc.

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Company Earnings Releases

>  Neogen Corporation announced that second quarter 2002 revenues were $10.7 million, the first time the Company’s quarter revenues have exceeded $10 million.  Revenues were 19% greater than last year’s second quarter of $9.0 million. Revenues for the Company’s first six months were $20.4 million compared to $17.1 million in the prior year.  Neogen’s operating profits for the quarter increased 46% compared to a year earlier. On a year-to-date basis, operating profits were 49% greater than last year.  The Animal Safety Division’s growth was led by deliveries of the Company’s new D3 hypodermic needles. (company press release)

>  Tyson Foods reported first quarter 2002 sales were $5.86 billion compared to $1.77 billion last year. Earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 were $126.9 million compared to $27.0 million for the same period last year. Chicken segment first quarter sales totaled $1.77 billion compared to $1.66 billion for the same period last year. Pork segment first quarter sales totaled $688.8 million compared to $38 million in the same period last year. Pork case ready sales totaled $49.3 million and international pork sales totaled $69.3 million. Beef segment first quarter sales totaled $2.55 billion. Beef sales for the same period last year were not available. First quarter fiscal 2002 results include 100% of IBP’s operations. (Meating Place)

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Company News Releases

>  Virbac Corporation announced that the FDA has approved Iverhart (ivermectin), a new product for canine heartworm prevention.  Virbac will launch Iverhart, bio-equivalent to the market leader, Merial’s Heartgard, in late spring 2002. The Iverhart approval follows closely on the heels of the May 2001 FDA approval of Virbac’s Iverhart Plus (ivermectin and pyrantel pamoate). (Business Wire)

>  Intervet announced that the USDA has granted full approval for the first vaccine to protect against bovine neosporosis.  NeoGuard is efficacious as an aid in reducing abortions caused by Neospora caninum in pregnant cattle.  NeoGuard has been available on a limited basis via a conditional license since 1998.  (Feedstuffs)

>  Heska announced the development of a 5-minute urine dipstick test for dogs that can detect renal disease significantly earlier than current methods.  The E.R.D. Screen Urine Test will be officially launched at the Western Veterinary Conference and will begin shipping in mid-February.  The test can detect levels of albumin in urine (an indicator of kidney malfunction) greater than 1.0 mg/dL, whereas conventional urine dipsticks detect levels of 10 – 30 mg/dL.  A product for cats is also being developed.  (Veterinary Practice News)

>  Farnam Companies, Inc., announced that it has acquired the Equi Aid line of horse products, expanding its current selection of over-the-counter horse dewormers and supplements.  The Equi Aid line includes Equi Aid CW (pyrantel tartrate) dewormer, Strongyle Wormer (pyrantel tartrate) and Equi Aid Natural Psyllium Fiber products.  As part of the agreement, Equi Aid will become a contract manufacturer for the product line along with other Farnam nutritional products. (company press release)

>  Novozymes and DSM announced that they have reached an agreement under which DSM will grant a semi-exclusive license and other rights to Novozymes for phytase products.  The agreement settles a number of lawsuits relating to phytase patents owned by DSM.  Under the terms of the agreement, Novozymes will pay DSM a significant up-front license fee and royalty.  Exact terms were not disclosed. (Feedstuffs)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING, INC.
2002 Animal Health Industry Overview

We continue to update our 2002 Animal Health Industry Overview as 2001 financial results are reported by industry participants.  The Overview this year will focus on the following areas:

– Review of the leading 12 companies 
– Review by segment of the US industry
– Hot industry topics for 2002
– Int’l issues by region
– New technologies
  
Seating for these presentations is always limited and fills quickly.  The two presentations at the NAVC earlier this month were quite popular.  We will be presenting the Overview once again at the Western Conference in Las Vegas in February.  Registration is $325.00 for the first attendee at the conference location from a company and $275.00 for each additional attendee at the conference location from the same company.

Western Veterinary Conference
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
MGM Grand Hotel, Room 303
One Seating Only at 9:00 am

For additional information please contact Jane Morgan at 972-243-4033 or email jmorgan@brakkeconsulting.com .  Please note that hard copies of the presentation will not be made available.

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Animal Health News

>  US   U.S. beef exports to Japan fell 31% in the last quarter of 2001 from a year earlier, reflecting consumers’ worries over an outbreak of BSE in Japan.  For all of 2001, exports probably dropped by at least 14% from 2000, when exports hit a record high.  Sales of beef, both domestically produced and imported, have slowed dramatically in Japan since the first reported case of BSE last September. (Reuters)

>  BELGIUM   Belgium has found one new case of BSE, bringing this year’s total to five and the cumulative figure since 1997 to 70. The federal agency monitoring safety in the food chain said in a statement it found the four-year-old animal while conducting tests at a unit in Jeneffe near the eastern city of Liege. (Reuters)

>  PHILIPPINES   The Philippines suspended imports of poultry products from Pennsylvania over a virus outbreak, widening restrictions imposed by Asian countries on American poultry.  The temporary ban by the Philippines adds to a similar ban by Japan on U.S. poultry imports and a ban on imports of chicken wing tips by China. The measure was imposed to prevent the entry into the country of the H7N7 virus, a low-pathogenic type of the avian flu virus the U.S. government has confirmed affected flocks in Pennsylvania last December. (Reuters)

>  AUSTRALIA    Australia’s sheep blowfly and the millions of dollars of damage it does to sheep each year may be facing genetically engineered eradication in New Zealand.  New Zealand researchers aiming to eradicate the pest using genetically engineered sterile male flies believe they can launch a trial in about a year.  The aim of the project is to release millions of sterile male blowflies to mate in the wild but produce no offspring and potentially eliminate the pest. (AnimalNet – AP)

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Brakke Consulting Viewpoint

What is your firm bringing to the marketplace in 2002 that is new and innovative, and provides an added benefit to your customers over current products or services?  We’d appreciate hearing from you, either via email, fax or snail mail (no powdery substances, please).  We promise to review your responses closely.  We will prepare a list of those that we deem most appropriate, with your permission, and publish in a future newsletter. (If you prefer to keep the information confidential, we would certainly be happy to do that also.)

The purpose of this request is an opportunity for each of you to prove to us that your marketing and R&D departments are effective and productive.  If we don’t receive any responses, we’ll have to make some judgments about possible stagnancy in the industry.

Our industry needs innovation to grow, and we’re having difficulty finding it.  Please prove us wrong.  New packaging, reduced or increased distributor or retailer margins do not qualify!  Please encourage innovation in your company so our newsletter can continue to be a source of interesting news each week.

Replies can be sent to:
info@brakkeconsulting.com
972-243-0925

Editor, Brakke Consulting Animal Health News & Notes
Brakke Consulting, Inc.
2735 Villa Creek, Suite 140
Dallas, TX  75234

[Ron Brakke]

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