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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for May 31, 2024
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting News
Brakke Search – industry veterinarian
Earnings News
Chewy
Kane Biotech
Pets at Home
Other News
Amazon
Arista Advanced Pet Care
ATX Medical Solutions
CareVet
dsm-firmenich
Elanco (Bovaer)
Elanco (Purdue)
GlobalVetLink
ImpriMed
Intrauma
MEDIVET Pet Hospital & Clinic
Merck
Okava Pharmaceuticals
SK Telecom
Veheri
Vivani Medical
Wimba
Zomedica
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August 26-27, 2024
Location: Midland Theatre | Kansas City, MO
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EARNINGS NEWS RELEASES
- Chewy, Inc. reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year ended April 28, 2024. Net sales were $2.88 billion, an increase of 3% year over year. Net income was $66.9 million, compared to net income of $22.9 million in the prior-year quarter. (company press release)
- Kane Biotech announced its first quarter 2024 financial results. Total revenue was C$941,661 (US$688,600), an increase of 39% compared to the prior-year quarter. Loss for the quarter was (C$1,346,825), an increase of 8% compared to the prior-year quarter. (company press release)
- Pets at Home announced results for its fiscal year ended March 28, 2024. Group revenue was GBP 1.5 billion ($1.9 billion), an increase of 5%. Underlying profit before tax was GBP 132 million ($162 million), down 3% year over year. (Globalpets)
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Elanco Animal Health Incorporated announced the FDA has completed its review of Bovaer (3-NOP), a methane-reducing feed ingredient, and determined the product meets safety and efficacy requirements for use in lactating dairy cattle; and expects product launch beginning in the third quarter. Elanco and dsm-firmenich have agreed to expand Elanco’s commercialization of Bovaer across North America. In addition to the US, Elanco will also now have the right to market Bovaer in Canada and Mexico, where the product is already available for use in beef and dairy cattle. (company press release)
- Elanco Animal Health and Purdue University announced a partnership to develop a new shared-use facility on Indiana’s new One Health Innovation District near the future Elanco global headquarters. Research interests will include understanding of the microbiome, antimicrobial resistance, computational biology, comparative genomics and livestock sustainability, among others. (university press release)
- The FDA issued a supplemental approval for Merck‘s Safe-Guard (fenbendazole) for the treatment and control of gastrointestinal worms (Aulonocephalus spp.) in wild quail. While there are currently FDA-approved drugs for use in farmed quail, this is the first animal drug approval for use in wild quail and for this indication. (FDA)
- Amazon’s Pet Day Sale event, which ran May 7-8, gave the online retailer a 4.8% year-over-year increase in sales from the week of May 8, 2023, according to consumer data company Affinity Solutions. (Pet Product News)
- Veheri announced the launch of a comprehensive teleradiology platform for small animal and equine veterinarians, offering remote radiological interpretation and consultation. (company announcement)
- ImpriMed announced the launch of ImpriMed Drug Response Predictions (DRP). Augmenting the company’s flagship Personalized Prediction Profile service, DRP is now being offered as a standalone test that uses AI-driven clinical outcome predictions for canines with lymphoma and leukemia, tailored to individual patient needs. (com)
- Zomedica announced the launch of its improved canine cortisol assay for the TRUFORMA in-clinic biosensor testing platform with enhanced precision and accuracy. (yahoo finance)
- GlobalVetLink (GVL) and CareVet announced their newly formed partnership that will see CareVet clinics utilizing the innovative GVL Compliance Assistant platform. (com)
- Vivani Medical, Inc. and development partner Okava Pharmaceuticals announced the publication of positive proof-of-concept weight loss data with OKV-119, a miniature, subdermal, exenatide drug implant designed to treat feline obesity and diabetes, in the peer-reviewed BMC Veterinary Research. (businesswire)
- In collaboration with ATX Medical Solutions, South Korean company SK Telecom launched its AI-based veterinary X-ray image diagnosis assistance service ‘X Caliber’ in Australia; and signed a commercial contract with MEDIVET Pet Hospital & Clinic to offer X Caliber in Indonesia. SKT is also actively providing beta service to veterinary clinics in North America, Europe, and Asia to further expand X Caliber’s presence in the global market. (prnewswire)
- Arista Advanced Pet Care was launched, offering a shared ownership model for specialty & emergency pet care hospitals. (com)
- EU Intrauma, Italy-based – maker of Vet Line orthopedic instruments – and Wimba – a Poland-based 3D printing specialists – announced a partnership to advance pet orthopedics through research and innovative 3D printing. (com)
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – AVIAN INFLUENZA The USDA has issued a request for information from companies that have the capability to develop and produce cow vaccines against H5N1. (Vet Advantage – Science)
- US – MUMS GRANTS The FDA opened a new period for applications for grants to support the development and potential approval or conditional approval of new animal drugs intended to treat uncommon diseases (minor uses) in major species (horses, dogs, cats, cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens) or to treat minor species (MUMS drugs). Click here for more information. (FDA)
- US – VET TECH GUIDELINES The American Association of Bovine Practitioners and the American Association of Equine Veterinary Technicians and Assistants have developed their own guidelines for leveraging the skills of veterinary technicians. The documents outline specific responsibilities and different levels of veterinary supervision for credentialed veterinary technicians in their areas of practice. (association press release)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
At our Industry Overview presented last year at VMX and WVC, we touched on the topic of the consumerization of the pet pharmacy and this year we reviewed the home delivery of pet medications. Pet owners are consumers but now companies are selling pet medications to them as consumers.
I was surprised to see in last week’s Vetsource Industry Summary report that the months of parasiticides dispensed the previous week was -9.5% for heartworm and -10.9% for Flea/Tick year over year. This week, the dispensing was -8.3% for heartworm and -8.2% for Flea/Tick YoY. What are pet owners – consumers – doing?
Maybe US consumers are really switching purchases to cut spending. According to a Wall Street Journal article this week, for example, purchases of store brand pet foods are up 7.5% over last year. The article goes on to say that the quality of private-offerings has improved markedly and that the goal of retailers is often to be better than the national brand. Interestingly, 68% of high-income shoppers viewed store brands favorably, which is above the level for middle- and lower-income shoppers.
National brands still dominate, making up 78% of all overall food and beverage dollar sales. There is one more month in this quarter, then we will see how the big parasiticide brands are doing with consumers, err, pet owners
Bob Jones
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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked a question of our readers about their use of telemedicine, which was stimulated by Walmart announcing they will offer veterinary telehealth visit available to their Walmart+ members at no cost. Less than 5% of respondents have already had a telemedicine appointment with their veterinarian, just over 10% said it was a great idea. But 35% said that they are not at all likely and over 15% said that they are not likely to try a telehealth visit for their pet. Just over 30% said they would for the right reason – these are the people Walmart will be looking for.
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