Animal Health News and Notes for March 13, 2020

***********************************
Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for March 13, 2020
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
************************************

IN THE NEWS:

earnings news
Ceva
PetIQ

other news
Airvet
Cadila Healthcare
CannPal Animal Therapeutics
Cerrado Nutrição Animal
Hempvet
ImmuCell
Kemin Industries
KVP International
MYOS RENS Technology
Neogen
Pebble Labs USA
Royal De Heus
Veterinary Study Groups
Virbac SA
Zydus Animal Health

************************************

COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES

• Ceva Group reported results for the full year 2019. Consolidated sales reached more than EUR 1.2 billion ($1.4 billion), an increase of 14.6% over 2018 (+10.4% CER). The group recorded positive growth in all geographical zones. (company press release)
• PetIQ, Inc. reported financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2019. Net sales were $709 million, an increase of 34% year-over-year; excluding contribution from Perrigo Animal Health, net sales increased 29%. Product segment net sales increased 37% to $617 million; Services segment net revenues increased 22% to $19.4 million. Net loss was $(14.3) million, compared to net income of $0.1 million in 2018. The 2019 net loss included $34.9 million incremental expense attributable to $28.5 million of non-recurring acquisition expenses and $6.4 million of incremental interest relating to the financing of the Perrigo Animal Health acquisition that closed in July 2019. (company press release)

***********************************
Animal Agriculture Alliance
2020 Stakeholders Summit
May 7 – 8 | Arlington, VA

Attend the 2020 Stakeholders Summit and you’ll be primed and prepared to build bridges from farm to fork.

We all have a vested interest in the future of animal agriculture—from farmers and ranchers to veterinarians and animal scientists to restaurant, retail and foodservice executives and every link of the food chain in between. The Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2020 Stakeholders Summit will provide an opportunity to come together, learn from each other and develop the proper tools for engaging in conversations about hot issues and securing our livelihoods. Sessions will cover sustainability, animal welfare, influencer engagement, preparing for animal rights activist campaigns and other hot topics.

For more details and to register, click here. Early registration discounts are available through April 3.

************************************

COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• Virbac SA and Pebble Labs USA announced that the companies entered into agreements to co-develop and commercialize breakthrough solutions for disease prevention in aquaculture. The Pebble Labs Directed Biotics technology harnesses shrimp’s natural immunity with a bacteria and redirects it to suppress White Spot Syndrome Virus. (News.yahoo.com)
• Neogen Corporation announced that it is ramping up its inventory of hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, nitrile gloves, and disinfectants to help in the global effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. (company press release)
• ImmuCell announced a complete refinancing of its bank debt. The Company closed on $8.6 million of debt, comprised of three components. The first component is a ten-year $5.1 million mortgage note; the second component is a seven-year $3.5 million note; the third component is a $1 million line of credit. The Company previously had five different loans that had been entered into during different stages of its capital investment programs.(company press release)
• Kemin Industries announced the launch of Kessent – a product range of rumen-protected methionine – and CholiGEM – an encapsulated choline nutritional supplement – in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. (Animal Pharm)
• MYOS RENS Technology announced that it has entered into a co-marketing and distribution agreement with KVP International, Inc., a supplier of innovative products for the veterinary rehabilitation market. (Yahoo finance)
• Airvet announced a partnership to be the telemedicine platform of choice for the 1,400+ member practices of Veterinary Study Groups (JAVMA)
• Hempvet announced the launch of nine new cannabidiol (CBD) pet wellness products, including its first for cats and horses. Each of its nine new products are designed to address specific issues. (Animal Pharm)
• CannPal Animal Therapeutics announced that the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine’s (CVM) has established an investigational new animal drug (INAD) file for CPAT-01, a highly purified pharmaceutical derived from natural tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol extracts. CannPal is developing CPAT-01 as a veterinary medicine for the reduction in symptoms associated with osteoarthritis. (Animal Pharm
• BRAZIL Royal De Heus announced it has acquired Cerrado Nutrição Animal, which produces a range of dairy and beef nutrition products for the Brazilian cattle market. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Animal Pharm)
• INDIA Cadila Healthcare Ltd announced it is transferring the Animal Healthcare Business (AHB) of the Company, on a going concern basis, to its wholly owned subsidiary Zydus Animal Health and Investments Limited. No cash consideration will be paid by ZAHL for transfer of AHB. ZAHL will issue and allot shares aggregating to Rs. 2,273.35 crores ($32 million) in exchange for transfer of AHB. Turnover of AHB for the year ended on March 31, 2019 was Rs. 510.90 crores ($7 million). (Equitybulls.com)

***********************************

ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER

***********************************

ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – ASF PREPAREDNESS The USDA announced an African swine fever (ASF) action plan in the event that the swine-only disease is detected in the US.  The agriculture secretary would immediately take necessary steps to declare an “extraordinary emergency” establishing USDA as the leader of a coordinated national approach to control and eradication, and issue a national standstill of at least 72 hours to prohibit all movement of swine. For more details click here.(Feedstuffs)
• US – FOOD INSPECTIONs The FDA announced that, in the wake of the coronavirus, it is postponing most foreign food inspections through April, effective immediately. In the interim, FDA plans to employ additional tools to ensure safety of products imported into US. These include denying entry of unsafe products into the US, physical examinations and/or product sampling at US borders, reviewing a firm’s previous compliance history, using information sharing from foreign governments as part of mutual recognition and confidentiality agreements and requesting records “in advance of or in lieu of” on-site drug inspections. (Feedstuffs)
• WORLD – SMALL ANIMAL MEDICINES The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has launched a List of Essential Medicines for Cats and Dogs.  Developed by the association’s Therapeutics Guidelines Group (TGG), the document aims to tackle difficulties that exist for companion animal veterinarians in many regions of the world in accessing vital veterinary medicines by supporting the availability of the drugs required for minimum standards of clinical practice.  To see the list, click here. (association press release)

************************************
BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT

Everywhere you turn and on every news outlet, COVID-19 is now the lead story.  This week, a slew of universities are suspending in-person classes and are switching to virtual classes in the short-run or in some cases, through the remainder of the semester.  Conventions and conferences are being cancelled or rescheduled.  Most professional sports, the NBA, NHL and MLB have suspended play.  And March Madness won’t have a lot of madness to it with fan-free venues.

We’ve heard that some animal health companies are cancelling meetings and are also restricting travel over and above the restrictions announced this week on travel from Europe.  The economic impact of COVID-19 will be far reaching when all is said and done.

It’s too early to know if foot traffic in vet clinics has been impacted but this is a distinct possibility.  Just as the federal government has announced that Medicare will cover telemedicine visits, this might just be the impetus to drive the expansion of telemedicine in the veterinary industry.  In addition, those vet clinics who provide home delivery options to their patients for pet meds might be better positioned to provide stronger continuity of care to their customers than those who don’t and might lose customers to the online retailers with prescription pharmacies.

Are we ready to function as a virtual society?  Will some of the temporary responses to COVID-19 by businesses become permanent?  Will it make us better?  We’re keeping our eyes open for changes…but right now, I going to wash my hands.

 Randy Freides

***********************************
YOUR VIEW

Last week, we asked you about supply chain changes in the animal health industry due to COVID-19.  Overall, the responses were about evenly split between “yes” and “no”.  About 18% said, “Yes – there will be paradigm-shifting changes” and 27% said, “Yes – but they will be minor.  Likewise, 27% said, “No – this is just a temporary supply chain issue” and 23% said, “No – registering new manufacturing outside China is too expensive and takes too long”.  And 5% of the respondents weren’t sure.

Staying with the COVID-19 these, here is the question for the week:

Does your company or business have a workplace contingency plan due to COVID-19?

**********************************

Trouble viewing this newsletter?  You can view it online at www.BrakkeConsulting.com

This electronic newsletter is the sole property of Brakke Consulting.
Any use of the contents herein should be approved by and appropriately attributed to Brakke Consulting.

For more information about Brakke Consulting’s services and syndicated studies, visit our website at www.brakkeconsulting.com.

Brakke Consulting
806 Green Valley Rd
Suite 200
Greensboro, NC  27408