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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for August 1, 2025
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Co-Editors: Lynn Fondon DVM, MBA and Christine Merle DVM, MBA, CVPM
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting News
Brakke Consulting attending the 2025 Animal Health Summit
Earnings News
Merck
Neogen
Other News
Alveo Technologies
ASTRA Therapeutics
Boehringer Ingelheim
Digitalis Ventures
Mars (Whistle)
Mars (manufacturing investment)
Metaphor Foods
MIG Capital AG
Novella Innovative Technology
Royal GD
Small Door Veterinary
SoundTalks
Top Wealth Group Holding Limited
Tractive
VetriScience
Whistle
Xiuzheng Pharma Group
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A Tribute to Our Founder
Yesterday we announced to our newsletter readers that Ron Brakke passed away on Wednesday this week. Many of our newsletter readers knew Ron professionally and many knew him personally, too. I thought it would be appropriate to write a few personal words about Ron. If you would like to tell a story about Ron, maybe how he impacted you or your business, please email it to me and I’ll make sure Ron’s family sees it.
Here is my story…
Ron started Brakke Consulting in 1986, the same year that I started in R&D at American Cyanamid. Ron had left Zoecon, a company that specialized in insect growth regulators and pest control products, a few years after it was bought by Sandoz Crop Protection in 1983.
About 10 years after Ron started Brakke Consulting, was the first time that I interacted with Ron on a consulting project. Over the years, I had always read the Brakke News & Notes Newsletter, purchased some of the reports his team produced, like the Sales Force Effectiveness Study, and attended the annual Industry Overview presentations.
But I did not get to really know Ron personally until he invited me to his family farm in South Dakota, northwest of Sioux Falls, for his annual pheasant hunt. Not only did I learn the traditions of family pheasant hunting in South Dakota, but I was able to meet Ron’s network of animal health industry friends and members of his family.
In January of 2015, Elanco completed the purchase of Novartis’s animal health business, and I had some time on my hands, which I used to train a black labrador puppy. My singular goal was to successfully hunt with “Boone” at Ron’s place, which I have done for ten years. Ron always trusted Boone to find the birds for him.
Many people in the animal health industry trusted Ron too. Ron knew a lot of people, helped a lot of companies solve problems and grow, helped place a lot of people in new positions in animal health companies and led many transactions for companies. He saw the dramatic consolidation of animal health distributors and manufacturers and he saw the dramatic success of the oral and topical parasiticides in veterinary medicine that helped move dogs from the backyard to the bedroom, and which eventually replaced the Zoecon products that he managed in the 1970s and 80s.
He was proud of our industry – he helped author a book about the history of U.S. animal health industry. Under his leadership, Brakke Consulting has produced five landmark studies that helped the animal health industry. He wanted it to be a better industry.
Ron was not alone in doing all this – he had a talented team around him, and I have been able to work with many of them on the team still today. And Ron trusted me, along with all the Brakke Consultants, to continue the legacy of the business that carries his name.
Bob Jones
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EARNINGS NEWS RELEASES
- Merck & Co reported 2nd Quarter 2025 Financial results. Animal Health sales were $1.6 Billion representing a growth of 11%.( company press release)
- Neogen announced their results for the full year ended May 31, 2025. Revenue for the full year was $894.7 million, a decrease of 3.2% vs prior year, this included a core revenue decline of 0.2%. Revenues for the Animal Safety Segment were $256.5 million, a decrease of 4.6% vs. prior year.( company press release)
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- SoundTalks, maker of a respiratory monitoring device for pigs, and Boehringer Ingelheim announced the end of their promotion and distribution partnership effective at the end of October 2025. (com)
- Whistle, a connected wearable brand owned by Mars, has been acquired by Tractive, a global provider of pet health monitoring. Financial terms were not disclosed. (com)
- Mars announced plans to increase their investment into growing their US-based- Manufacturing by an additional $2 billion by the end of 2026. 94% of Mars products sold in the US are produced locally in the US. (com)
- VetriScience has partnered with the Senior Dog Veterinary Society to educate on the benefits of nutritional supplements for dogs. (EINPresswire.com)
- Novella Innovative Technology, a biotech startup, has formed a strategic partnership with functional ingredient producer, Metaphor Foods to provide a natural antioxidant and anti-microbial compound created from plant cells that will become a natural preservative to be used initially in meat and poultry but can extend into other areas including pet food. (net)
- MIG Capital AG and Digitalis Ventures announced they co-led a round of Euro 8.3 million in seed funding to support ASTRA Therapeutics work on novel parasitic agents that control parasites by inhibiting cell division. (ai)
- In order to scale their membership-based model, Small Door Veterinary raised $55 million consisting of $35M Equity and $20M Debt Facility. (com)
- An expanded partnership between Alveo Technologies and Royal GD will add additional rapid molecular tests for poultry diseases beyond their initial poultry avian influenza test. (com)
- CHINA The signing of a legally-binding Memorandum of Understanding would bring Xiuzheng Pharma Group’s Animal Health Business into Nasdaq listed company Top Wealth Group Holding Limited (TWG). The formal partnership when complete would diversify TWG to include pet health and accelerate international expansion of China’s leading privately-owned pharmaceutical conglomerate. (com)
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Brakke Consulting
Brakke Consulting attending the 2025 Animal Health Summit
Brakke Consulting is thrilled to be attending the 2025 Animal Health Summit, hosted by the KC Animal Health Corridor on August 25–26, 2025. Our team would welcome the opportunity to connect with your group during the networking, 1:1 business partnering, and inspiring emerging company presentations, panels, and thought‑leader sessions.
Whether you’re navigating product strategy, investor partnerships, recruiting executive talent, or preparing for licensing and M&A—you’ll find the Brakke team perfectly positioned to help you advance.
Let’s discuss how customized market insights, actionable business strategy, or access to top-tier talent can support your goals. To set up a conversation during the Summit, please contact us using the platform, or email info@brakkeconsulting.com. We look forward to collaborating with innovative leaders and companies in the animal health ecosystem.
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – USDA – US Department of Agriculture announced that their operations will leave Washington DC and reorganize into 5 different regional hubs located in Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Colorado and Utah. ( wfyi.org)
- US – SPECTRUM OF CARE CLINIC – University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine Campus will have a new facility clinic focused on providing veterinary students with a “spectrum of care” approach. The facility is funded through a $5 million grant from the Stanton Foundation. (com)
- US – STAFF PROTESTS – Staffing shortages at the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital prompted members of the University Professional and Technical Employees and Communications Workers of America 9119 to protest on July 29, 2025. (com)
- AUS – BEEF IMPORTS – Fresh chilled and frozen American and Canadian beef products can now legally enter Australia after import restrictions in place since 2003 have finally been lifted after completion of a full biosecurity and safety assessment by Australia. (com ; Canada.ca)
- SAUDI ARABIA – EQUINE INFECTIOUS ANEMIA(EIA) – The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has officially recognized Saudia Arabia as free of EIA. This recognition helps facilitator international trade and horse competitions. (com.sa)
- INDIA- AQUACULTURE- The Maldives and India signed a memorandum of understanding that fosters collaboration in sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and ecotourism. (gov.in)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
Recently, my colleague, John Volk wrote about the competitiveness within the pet food market, the largest segment of the pet market. I would like to expand on his comments.
We have all seen the humanization of our pets, which now includes the humanization of the food we give them. Fresh and frozen food represents one of the fastest growing pet food segments. Companies like Fresh Pet, Farmer’s Dog, Ollie, Nom Nom and Just Food for Dogs to name a few, are strong players in this market. The gloves are now off. Pet food behemoths including Mars’ Royal Canin and General Mills through its Blue Buffalo brand both have recently announced new fresh food products. In addition, back in February 2025, Hills announced the acquisition of Care TopCo Pty Ltd., an Australian company marketing the Prime100 brand of fresh pet food.
According to NIQ data, the fresh/frozen pet food segment grew +16.1% in dollars and +15.8% in unit sales in 2024. NIQ data shows that the fresh/frozen market is still small, representing just 3.6% of the total pet food market. While small, the growth rates are difficult to ignore, and the advertising and marketing expenditure reflects this. Not a day goes by without seeing a TV ad for the Farmer’s Dog brand, some of the best ads on TV.
The race is on to capture market share in the premium pet food segment. Who will be next to enter this market? More importantly, will anyone produce better ads than the Farmer’s Dog?
Randy Freides
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YOUR VIEW
Last week we asked, “Which segment of the industry do you think will show the greatest growth over the next five years?” Biotech products led the way with 42% of the vote, reflecting strong confidence in innovations like monoclonal antibodies and gene therapy. In the minority were all the rest -Diagnostics (13)%, Pharmaceutical products (11%), Technology(11%).Regenerative medicine (9%), Biologics(6%) and Parasiticides( 6%). As trends shift toward advanced solutions, it’s evident that biotech is poised to take center stage in the future of animal health.
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