ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS & NOTES · September 4, 2026
The Opportunity of the Equine Market
Editor: Christine Merle DVM, MBA, CVPM
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Earnings News
- Petco reported its second quarter 2026 results with net sales of $1.5B an increase of 0.05% compared to the prior year noting a stronger-than-expected points redemption from its membership program relaunch for the smaller than initially expected increase. (company press release)
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US Company News
- Boehringer Ingelheim announced the opening of its new US animal health headquarters in Johns Creek, GA. (company press release)
- Zoetisfunded a study published in the Journal of the AVMA to describe the adverse clinical and radiographic musculoskeletal findings in dogs treated with Librela (bedinvetmab) revealing a rare, newly named condition – abnormal periarticular bone remodeling (APBR). (com)
- Purina Instituteannounced a publication of a study that showed evidence of a smart litter box monitor to distinguish meaningful changes related to kidney disease. (company press release)
- Northwest Naturals voluntarily recalled two specific lots of raw cat and dog food due to possible Salmonella and Listeria contamination. (com)
- Zinpro Corpannounced the availability of Zinpro Availa CR, a chromium solution for dairy and beef cattle producers. (com)
- ThorneVet has rebranded as PetDomain and has launched a veterinarian-formulated pet supplement line. (com)
- Roo, a veterinary workforce platform, launched its continuing education and career development service. (com)
- Airvet, a care platform, has become an official supporter of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute. (press release)
- Hoomanelyunveiled its AI- Native platform to create a health intelligence layer to be used with commercial intelligent products such as its Everbowl. (company press release)
- SunTech Medicalannounced the launch of a dedicated veterinary website, SunTechVet.com, to increase awareness of animal-specific monitoring technology. (yahoo.com)
- Paw Prosperannounced becoming the exclusive home and commercial parter for Elvation VET Shockwave Therapy across the US and Canada. (company press release)
- The North American Veterinary Communityannounced the inaugural Today’s Veterinary Business Best Places to Practice award program. (press release)
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International Company News
- EU – FUJIFILM Healthcare Europeannounced the launch of FVET Let’s Lift the Clouds, an initiative to provide veterinarians point of care testing solutions that provide reliable and faster decision-making results. (company press release)
- MX – Mexico’s Secretaria de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural approved MSD Animal Health’s Bravecto ( Fluranlaner) for the treatment of New World Screwworm larvae infestations in dogs. (com)
- UK – Boehringer Ingelheim launched SCOVELLA (velagliflozin oral solution) a therapy developed and licensed in Great Britain for the treatment of insulin dysregulation (ID) in horses and ponies. (company press release)
- UK – GroVet, an equine health company, announced the launch of Grovet UK. (company press release)
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Animal Health Industry News
- EU – The European Commission suspended imports of meat from Brazil over concerns about antibiotic use. (com)
- US – NEW WORLD SCREWWORM UPDATES
- USDA has reopened the Arizona border to the importation of Mexican live cattle with detailed outline of the animal health protocol that must be completed. (com)
- APHIS approved the release of the only New Mexico NWS infested zone. (government press release)
- APHIS approved the release of two Texas NWS infested zones; several remain in place. (government press release)
- FDA issued Emergency Use Authorization for Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Capstar (nitenpyram) tablets and revised the EUA for Felix’s Pharmaceuticals Nitenpyram Tablets for both product for the prevention and treatment of NWS infestations (myiasis) in dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens. (government press release)
- US – Researchers at the University of Arizona have published astudy developing a tool to analyze how people talk to their pet providing access to raw behavior versus what is reported in questionnaires. (arizona.edu)
- US – Accreditors of undergraduate and graduate programs have until September 21 to comment on the Education Departments’ Accreditation, Innovation and Modernization proposed rulemakingwhich will lead the AVMA Council on Education to prepare for changes. (org)
- US – A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from Lincoln Memorial University against the American Veterinary Medical Association for violation of antitrust law. (com)
- US – North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed rabies cases in baby goats in a mobile petting zoo with potential exposure to humans at multiple off-site events across several counties with ongoing investigations occurring. (com)
- US – Kansas State University’s Center on Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases secured an $11.4M NIH funding renewal through 2031. (com)
- US – Research from the Dog Aging Project recently publishedshowed that multiple chronic health conditions in dogs can shorten a dog’s lifespan. (tamu.edu)
- US – Dr. Melissa Mazan, DVM, ACVIM has been named dean ad interim of Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. (tufts.com)
- US – The CATalyst Council has made a new resourcefor veterinary practices- The Kitten in the Room” to mark the start of Happy, Healthy Cat Month. (press release)
- US – AAHA released the 2026 Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs. (organization press release)
- US – The RECOVER Initiative released the 2026 RECOVER First Aid Guidelines for dogs and cats. (com)
- US – The Pet-Inclusive Housing Reportfrom the Human Animal Bond Research Institute was released as the outcome of the HABRI Spring Policy Forum’ s goal to develop a roadmap for more pet-inclusive housing. (association press release)
- US – FDA released final guidances on international standards for evaluating reproductive and genotoxicity risks from long-term, low-dose exposure to veterinary drug residues in human food. (government press release)
- GLOBAL – An international and interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working with the Sbarro Health Research Organization published a reviewhighlighting the importance of honeybees as sentinel species to monitor environmental health. (com)
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Brakke Consulting Viewpoint
The opportunity of the equine market
In this week’s newsletter- BI announced the approval of a therapy for the treatment of insulin dysregulation in horses and ponies in Great Britain. A few weeks ago, we noted the publication of a peer-reviewed controlled trial in equine regenerative medicine for an allogenic equine umbilical cord connective tissue matrix. Could this be a sign of renewed interest in Equine product offerings? As a horse woman for 30+ years l sure hope so. Equine has long struggled finding a business unit home – should they be part of companion animal, reside with livestock or be a dedicated team of their own? From an R and D perspective the relatively low number of horse owning households (The American Pet Products Association 2025 survey lists it as 2 million households) and lack of recent and reliable number of horses make it extremely difficult to create financially justifiable market potential assumptions. So for a long time, the equine health market has been seen somewhat of the wild west- with little need for traditional FDA product approvals or investments in solutions. However there seems to be a bit of a shift, the American Horse Council’s 2023 Economic Impact of the Horse Industry gave us some insights – 6.6 million horses, segmenting them into sectors such as racing, recreation and competition and more recently the legitimizing of the regenerative medicine (PRP) and pain management modalities (Laser, Chiropractic, Massage) for humans. While it will always be dwarfed to the broader markets of cats and dogs and livestock, equine shouldn’t be overlooked. Don’t let their numbers define the whole story.
Dr. Christine Merle, Editor
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Your View
Last week we asked you which is your favorite Dolly Parton song that she wrote. “I Will Always Love You” came out on top with 38%. With a 3-way tie at ~20% each for “Jolene” ,“9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors. While “Two Doors Down” had only 5%. I am sure we all enjoyed hearing these and many more over the last two weeks.
This week in the viewpoint we highlighted the challenges of determining market potential for some species. We want to know what factor you believe is the most important factor to determine market potential when bringing a new product or service into animal health?
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