The Experts in Animal Health

***********************************
Brakke Consulting’s 
Animal Health News & Notes for May 22, 2026
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Christine Merle DVM, MBA, CVPM 
************************************

IN THE NEWS:

Brakke Consulting News
Tails of Talent: Branding Lessons to Win the Talent Game

Earnings News
ImmuCell 

Company News
AgriWebb
ALR Technologies (CA)
Chewy
Covetrus
Dechra
Elanco
Frostfutter Perleberg (DE)
Golden Pet Brands
Hill’s Pet Nutrition
IDEXX
K&K Petfood GmbH (DE)
Medline
Merck Animal Health
NEBU-TEC
Petsource
Serenity Vet
The Nutriment Company (DE)
URUS Group LP
VEG ER For Pets
VIrbac
Viromed Medical AG
VMD Sciences
Zoetis
Zomedica

Animal Health News
Australia
Germany
Europe Union
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States

*****************************************
Company Earnings Releases

  • ImmuCell reported its unaudited first quarter of 2026 results with a product sales of $10.4M an increase of 28.4% compared to prior year same period. Net income for the quarter was reported as $1.9M. (company press release) 

*********************************************
2026 Animal Health Summit
August 31-September 1, 2026
Location: Midland Theatre | Kansas City, MO  2026 Animal Health Summit

Registration is now open for the 2026 Animal Health Summit

The Animal Health Summit features two days of networking, 1:1 business partnering, industry thought leaders, panel discussions, speakers and emerging company presentations. Click here to learn more.

*********************************************
Company News Releases

  • Chewy announced that it is consolidatingits private label pet brands under a single new brand, Chewy Made. (com) 
  • Elanco announced the launch of Befrena, its anti-IL-31 monoclonal antibody injection for treatment of canine allergic and atopic dermatitis. (company press release)
  • Zoetisreceived emergency use authorization for OTC injectable Dectomax/ Dectomax-CA1 (doramectin injection) for the prevention and treatment of New World Screwworm in dairy cattle, horses, swine, sheep and deer. (FDA press release) 
  • Merck Animal Healthhas been referred to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and FDA by the National Advertising Review Board for failure to comply with its recommendations to discontinue or modify express once-a year dosing claims for its Bravecto Quantum injectable. (financialcontent.com) 
  • Dechraannounced the approval of CosACTHen (cosyntropin injection) for the evaluation of adrenal function in dogs by the FDA. (company press release)
  • Virbac’s CET AQUADENT FR3SH Dental solution has earned the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal of acceptance for plaque and tartar control in dogs. (company press release)
  • IDEXXannounced that SDMA, a renal biomarker, will be built into its Catalyst CLIP making it part of their most common point-of-care chemistry profiles. (company press release) 
  • Covetrusannounced that VetSuite, its program for independent clinics, has surpassed 4,000 member practices. (company press release) 
  • Hill’s Pet Nutritionannounced, “Healthy Skin Starts from Within”, their 2026 Hill’s Global Symposium. (company press release) 
  • Golden Pet Brands announced the acquisition ofPetsource pet food production plant in Seward, Nebraska. (net) 
  • ViromedMedical AG, a cold plasma technology company, signed an exclusive global distribution partnership with NEBU-TEC, a medical technology company with 30 years of experience in aerosol medicine. (company press release) 
  • URUS Group, a provider of animal health solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquireAgriWebb, a global livestock management and supply chain data platform for beef producers. (com) 
  • VMD Sciences (VMDS) announced the expansion of its veterinary pharmaceutical supply solutions with support to veterinarians to address domestic shortage of Buscopanin the US and access to antiparasitic and associated treatments due to the rise of infectious disease due to the expansion of the Asian longhorned tick in the US. (com) 
  • Medlineannounced the availability of custom spay/neuter surgical packs. (company press release) 
  • Zomedica’s PulseVethas been named the Official Shock Wave of the United States Eventing Association (USEA). (company press release)
  • Serenity Vet, a veterinary relief staffing operating system, released an enterprise-greadeintelligence for multi-location veterinary organizations. (company press release) 
  • VEG ER for Pets, a national provider of 24-hour emergency veterinary care, has been named the Official Animal Hospital of the Boston Red Sox. (com)
  • CA- ALR Technologieslaunched GluCurve Pet CGM, a diabetic monitoring system specifically for veterinary use, in Canada. (com)
  • DE- The Nutriment Company,a European supplier of natural pet food, announced it is acquiring Frostfutter Perleberg, a German d2c platform in raw feeding (BARF) products from K&K Petfood GmbH. (com) 

*********************************************
Brakke Consulting
Tails of Talent: Branding Lessons to Win the Talent Game

Webinar Dates & Times:
June 2nd | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
June 4th | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
** All dates are EST **

In today’s competitive animal health industry, attracting top talent goes beyond job postings—it starts with how your organization is perceived.

In animal health, the war for talent isn’t won with job postings; it’s won with perception. It starts with how the market sees you. Join us for an insight-rich session that shows why companies with strong, trusted brands consistently attract better candidates, shorten time-to-hire, and boost long-term retention. Using fresh data and real examples from across the industry, our seasoned experts will walk you through how to evaluate your organization’s brand reputation and elevate it to the level top talent seeks out. Instead of chasing candidates, learn how to position your company as the place they want to be.

Presented by: 

  • Jeff Santosuosso – Executive Recruiter – Brakke Consulting
  • Jake Yarbrough – Group Director – Schaefer Advertising

This session is a valuable opportunity to rethink your recruitment strategy and position your company as a destination for top talent.

We look forward to seeing you there and helping you win the talent game. Click here to register, this session is a high-value investment in the future of your recruitment strategy.

Please email Amanda McDavid or call 336-396-3916 for assistance with registering.

We look forward to helping you win the talent game.

********************************************
Animal Health Stock Price Tracker

*********************************************
Animal Health News

  • US- PHOSPHORUS MAXIMUM- The Association of America Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) are set to vote on a proposal to set a maximum level of phosphorus in cat food based on research indicating a link between dietary phosphorus and chronic kidney disease in cats. (vin.com)
  • US- CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE- The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the availability of ~$12M to fund projects to control and prevent chronic wasting disease in wild and farmed cervids. (gov)
  • US- CENTER FOR ANIMAL LOCOMOTION AND INNOVATION (CALI)- The University of California, Davis opened CALI, a partnership between the College of Engineering and Weill School of Veterinary Medicine’s California Raptor Center. (ucdavis.edu)
  • AU- MELBOURNE VETERINARY SCHOOL- Professor Jeffery Wichtel has been appointed the next dean of the Melbourne Veterinary School at the University of Melbourne effective January 18, 2027.  He is currently dean of the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, Canada. (com.au)
  • DE- RABIES- Eurosurveillance confirmed a case of rabies in a female dog in Germany that had been imported from Russia as part of a group of pets imported by a Russian animal welfare organization. (org)
  • EU- NEW SPECIALITY- The European Board of Veterinary Specialization (EBVS) had granted provisional accreditation to the new European College in Veterinary Primary Care- Companion Animal (ECVPC-CA). (hu)
  • UAE- NEW PRIVATE VETERINARY COLLEGE- The United Arab Emirates have broken ground on the country’s first private veterinary teaching hospital and college in Ajman. (com)
  • UK- ADVERSE EVENT REPORTING- The Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) launched a new digital reporting platform to report adverse events (AEs) in animal medicines. (uk)

************************************
Brakke Consulting Viewpoint  

Like other industries, animal health thrives on innovation, and this edition of the newsletter includes several examples. A new treatment for canine allergic and atopic dermatitis. A new authorization for an established anti-parasitic. A new product for the evaluation of adrenal function in dogs. The addition of a new biomarker added to diagnostic tests.

When we do benchmark studies, one of the key metrics we look at is age of product lines. What percentage of sales are derived from products launched in the last 3-5 years? How do you compare to your peer competitors? It’s an important measure of whether you are keeping pace in your industry.

It won’t be long before management teams start meeting to initiate strategic planning and budgeting for 2027. We encourage you to include age of product lines as one of your core evaluations. Please let us know if we can help.

John Volk, Senior Consultant

***********************************
Your View 

Last week we asked about where our readers fall on an optimistic (10) and pessimistic (0) scale. It appears that we’re a “glass half full” industry, the average score of newsletter readers was 7.26. Optimism no doubt serves us well at a time the industry faces a lot of headwinds.

Speaking of headwinds, for the first time I’ve seen gas prices above $6.50/g, more than $2 higher than just a couple of months ago. And we’ve all read about higher air fares due to increased fuel costs.

So, this week please tell us if higher transportation costs are altering your summer vacation plans. 

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

en_USEnglish