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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for April 30, 2021
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Earnings News
Merck
National Veterinary Services
Nestle
Novozymes
Orion
Other News
Alibaba
Bio-X Diagnostics
Emollivet
Hester Biosciences
Home Again
MatMaCorp
Merck
Miller Vet
Patterson Veterinary Supply
Pet Food Experts
Pethealth
SynDaver
United Pacific Pet
VetSuccess
Zivo Bioscience
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COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES
- Merck announced financial results for the first quarter of 2021. Animal Health revenues were $1,418 million, an increase of 17% year-over-year (+15% currency adjusted). Sales growth reflected higher demand globally for companion animal products, including parasiticide lines of products, primarily Bravecto, as well as higher sales of companion animal vaccines. Sales growth in livestock products reflects higher demand in international markets for ruminant, poultry and swine products, as well as higher demand globally for Animal Intelligence products. (company press release)
- Nestle reported results for the first quarter of 2021. Petcare sales were CHF 3,620 million ($3,970 million), an increase of 3% over the prior-year quarter. (company website)
- Orion reported results for the first quarter of 2021. Animal health sales dropped by 17% to EUR 19 million ($23 million), due in part to the termination of its Scandinavian distribution agreement with Zoetis. (IHS Markit Connect)
- Novozymes announced financial results for the first quarter of 2021. Revenues for the company’s agricultural, animal health and nutrition business were DKK493 million ($80 million), a decline of 5% decline from the prior-year quarter. (IHS Markit Connect)
- National Veterinary Services reported results for its fiscal year ended April 30, 2020. Turnover was GBP 481 million ($669 million), an increase of 5% compared to fiscal 2019. Pre-tax profits dropped slightly from GBP 10.5 million ($14.6 million) to GBP 10.2 million over the same period. (Insidermedia.com)
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Patterson Veterinary Supply, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Miller Vet Holdings, LLC, a multiregional veterinary distributor. Upon closing, the acquisition is expected to grow Patterson Animal Health’s presence in the companion animal market in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets. Financial terms were not disclosed. (company press release)
- PTZ Insurance Agency Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pethealth, and Home Again, a Merck Animal Health subsidiary, announced a partnership to provide pet health insurance to pet parents under the Pets Plus Us brand. Pets Plus Us, which launched in 2012, is a full-service provider of pet health insurance across the US and Canada. (PRnewswire)
- MatMaCorp announced it has launched MY Real-Time Analyzer (MYRTA), a new hand-held diagnostic device for animal and human health. The tool can conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and real-time fluorescent detection anytime, anywhere. MatMaCorp has demonstrated MYTRA can detect porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRS) in pigs. (IHS Markit Connect)
- VetSuccess announced the launch of the VHMA Practice Manager Dashboard, an analytics tool that enables VHMA members to compare their practice’s performance to other VHMA members and thousands of other veterinary practices nationally. The VHMA Practice Manager Dashboard is available exclusively to VHMA members only. (company press release)
- The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a notice of allowance for Zivo Bioscience’s algal biomass product for its use to promote a healthy immune response in dairy cattle. (IHS Markit Connect)
- Pet Food Experts announced it will acquire the operating assets of United Pacific Pet, a regional distributor of pet food and animal care products in the West. United Pacific Pet currently serves approximately 1,500 independent pet retailers and pet professionals throughout California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Pet Business)
- SynDaver announced the launch of a new synthetic feline surgical training model. This innovative tool is designed to teach veterinary students how to perform feline spay surgeries without the need for a live patient. (DVM360)
- INDIA Hester Biosciences announced it has launched research-based herbal products for poultry, cattle, sheep, goat, and swine. (Telanganatoday.com)
- BELGIUM Bio-X Diagnostics announced the launch of Monoscreen AbELISA – Ascaris suum, a new serological testing kit for parasitic infection in swine. The test – which delivers a quick and accurate evaluation of parasitic load using blood samples in one day – was developed in collaboration with the University of Ghent. (IHS Markit Connect)
- SWEDEN Sweden’s innovation authority Vinnova announced a SEK 300,000 investment in Lipidor’s subsidiary Emollivet, which is developing animal care products based on Lipidor’s patented AKVANO technology. The funding will enable Emollivet, through interaction with animal owners and others in the animal health market, to gather data from pet owners with skin problems for their upcoming product launch. (Prnewswire)
- CHINA e-commerce company Alibaba announced it has banned the listing and trading of human pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines and herbal treatments on its online platform. The company attributed the ban to “the regulatory requirements and the high-risk nature of pharmaceutical products.” (IHS Markit Connect)
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – VETERINARY EDUCATION Federal lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to minimize student debt and improve access to veterinary care in rural areas. Launched with support from the AVMA, the VMLRP Enhancement Act would expand the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program. The program provides food animal and public health veterinarians up to $25,000 a year for student loan repayment in exchange for at least three years of service in USDA-designated rural veterinary shortage areas. According to the AVMA, the new bill would remove a withholding tax that currently results in 37% of the funding allocated to the program being returned to the federal government through the tax. (Vet Advantage)
- US – CWD University of Minnesota researchers at the Minnesota Center for Prion Research (MNPRO) have developed a novel approach to field testing chronic wasting disease (CWD). The development makes them the first-ever scientists to successfully deploy a CWD field test. The assay, which uses nanoparticles to identify CWD prions in tissue samples, generates a color change of red for a positive CWD result and blue for negative. (Feedstuffs)
- US – VETERINARY ASSOCIATIONS The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges is changing its name to the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges. The shift in wording is meant to recognize the AAVMC’s international member institutions and correctly indicate that these members are a part of an American-based association. (JAVMA)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
The first quarter results are coming in and it seems like the animal health industry is off to a great start. Back to normal! No need to change. But something tells me we shouldn’t think this way.
That something is based on Charles Handy’s book titled, “The Age of Paradox” published 25 years ago. He writes, “The world keeps changing. It is one of the paradoxes of success that the things and the ways which got you where you are, are seldom those that keep you there.” He tells a parable called The Road to Davy’s Bar, which involves rural Ireland, unmarked roads and nonsensical but logical directions. The lesson he learned might be the paradox of our time:
“By the time you know where you ought to go, it’s too late to go there, or, more dramatically, if you keep on going the way you are, you will miss the road to the future.”
That something is also based on news today. According to the Wall Street Journal, airlines are ramping up for a much better year, but they are not adding flights on typical business routes, they are adding routes for vacationers. The tech giants reported staggering growth last year and now collect over half of all ad spending in the US. Want to reach consumers? Veterinarians?
We like to say that the animal health industry is resilient, successful. But we are not immune to change, and it is easier to change when you are successful.
Bob Jones
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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked about new pets – Did you, or anyone you know, acquire a new pet in 2020. Of the respondents, 20% said yes, they acquired a new pet and 20% said no. Almost 70% said that someone they know got a new pet. That’s good news. Now, tell those new pet owners to take them to the vet, we need the industry to keep growing.
This week
Now to this week. Charles Handy writes that the traditional lifecycle of a successful organization has three phases– growth, maturity, and decline. He argues the best time start a new effort to keep growing is in the growth phase, not the next two. These two phases, maturity and decline, occur because of environmental changes over time. This week let’s see what you think these important environmental drivers are.
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