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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for December 13, 2024
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting News
2024 Flea Control & Heartworm Markets Report – now available
Brakke Consulting 2025 Industry Overview
Earnings News
Petco
Other News
Alveo Technologies
Best Friends Pet Care
Cargill
Covetrus
CowManager
Neogen
Next In Line
Patient Square Capital
Patterson Companies
Wedgewood
Wellness Pet Company
Zoetis
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Brakke Consulting
2024 US Flea Control & Heartworm Markets Report
Now available
Are you on top of the trends in the largest market segment in companion animal health? Brakke Consulting will soon be publishing our 2024 report on the US Flea Control and Heartworm Markets.
The report includes valuable information on the US market for small animal parasiticides including:
- Product descriptions, prices (veterinarian cost and online pricing), and sales for the leading veterinary flea, tick and heartworm products
- an overview of the veterinary and OTC flea control markets
- Upcoming new product launches, including CREDELIO QUATTRO
- 2024 survey of 360 veterinarians
- 2024 survey of 500 pet owners
The report on the US Flea Control & Heartworm Markets is now available for a price of $7,995.
Please contact Dr. Lynn Fondon at 336-396-3916 or info@brakkeconsulting.com to order the report, or for more information visit our website.
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EARNINGS NEWS RELEASES
- Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. announced its third quarter 2024 financial results. Net revenue was $1.51 billion, up 1.2% versus prior year. Net loss attributable to Class A and B-1 common stockholders was $(16.7) million compared to a loss of $(1,241) million in the prior year. (company press release)
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Brakke Consulting
Brakke Consulting 2025 Industry Overview
Presented at VMX: Monday, January 27th, 2-4 pm, Hyatt Regency, Plaza Intl Ballroom G
Presented at WVC: Monday, March 3rd , 2-4 pm, Four Seasons Ballroom 4
How did the top animal health companies perform in 2024? What critical issues and new products will impact industry performance in 2025? Answers to these questions and more will be covered at Brakke Consulting’s annual Industry Overview at the VMX and WVC conferences next year. Key topics and presenters include:
- Industry and Top Global Company 2024 Performance, presented by Bob Jones
- Pets and Vets – What Happened in 2024, presented by John Volk
- Parasiticides in Pets – Back to the Future, presented by Darrell Klug
- Regenerative Medicine ─ Future Game-Changing Therapies, presented by Mike McGinley
Also, again at both events, you will be able to hear directly from a panel of top leaders in the animal health industry. Moderated by Paul Casady, the topic for the panel will be “Opportunities and Challenges in 2025.” The panel for VMX and WVC will be announced soon.
This information-packed 2-hour session will be especially valuable for executive leadership, sales and marketing, strategy, and finance managers and for decision makers in the animal health industry.
Click here to register for VMX
Click here to register for WVC
You can also email Amanda McDavid or call at 336-396-3916. Registration cost is $399; there are discounts for multiple attendees from the same company. We look forward to seeing you there!
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Zoetis announced that it has entered a collaboration with Colorado State University’s AgNext to advance research in sustainable animal production. The first study is focused on establishing baseline greenhouse gas emissions that reflect an industry-typical production environment for fed cattle and accounts for the standard health treatments animals typically receive. The second study is a lifecycle assessment of beef and dairy production systems to support industry knowledge of the effect animal genetics and animal health interventions like vaccination and parasite control have on sustainable beef and dairy production. (Beef Magazine)
- Patterson Companies, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Patient Square Capital. Patterson shareholders will receive $31.35 in cash per share, representing a transaction value of approximately $4.1 billion, including the refinancing of Patterson’s receivables facilities. The merger agreement includes a 40-day “go-shop” period that permits the Patterson Board and its advisors to actively solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties. Upon completion of the transaction, Patterson will become a privately held company. (company press release)
- Covetrus announced the grand opening of its expanded, 50,000-square-foot pharmaceutical compounding facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The new facility, which is expanding by nearly 25,000 square feet, significantly enhances Covetrus’ pharmacy capabilities including compounded medications. (Pet Age)
- Neogen announced the launch of its proprietary dairy genomics index, Lifetime Dairy Dollars (LD$). The index strategically weights key areas such as Production, Health, Fertility, Longevity and Functional Type – elevating selection for productivity, health and longevity in the milking herd. (Feedstuffs)
- Wedgewood Equine, a dedicated division of Wedgewood, introduced Blue Rabbit for equine veterinarians, empowering veterinarians with tools and services to optimize their on-the-go practices. (businesswire)
- CowManager introduced Sort my Cow, the new labor-saving sort gate technology that seamlessly integrates with the CowManager monitoring system. (company press release)
- Alveo Technologies Inc, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Germany are collaborating to develop a feline respiratory disease panel will be designed to simultaneously test for feline influenza, feline calicivirus (FCV) and feline herpes virus-1 (FHV) infections. The new respiratory panel in development will be compatible with Alveo’s proprietary technology IntelliSense, a rapid, molecular diagnostic platform. (DVM360)
- Cargill announced plans to lay off about 5% of its global workforce as food commodity prices drop. Cargill has more than 160,000 employees worldwide, meaning there will be an estimated 8,000 cuts. (com)
- Next In Line announced the launch of Vet Suite, a portfolio of solutions tailored specifically for veterinary practices. Vet Suite helps streamline client management, from 24/7 online scheduling to digital waitlists, new client registration, and appointment reminders. (com)
- Wellness Pet Company has partnered with pet-services chain Best Friends Pet Care to supply dog and cat food and treats for pets staying at 60 locations across the country. (Pet Business)
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – VETERINARY WORKFORCE The American Veterinary Medical association dropped a podcast in December about the veterinary economic landscape with insights from industry experts Matthew MacLachlan and Brakke Consulting’s John Volk. The episode promises a comprehensive guide to navigating economic instability and forecasting with confidence. Click here to listen to the 15-minute podcast, or read the JAVMA-published article here . (association announcement)
- US – PET SALES The Pet Advocacy Network has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against an upcoming New York law that prohibits pet stores from selling dogs and cats sourced from professional, licensed and inspected breeders. Pet Advocacy Network joins six New York businesses as plaintiffs. (Pet Product News)
- US – AVIAN INFLUENZA The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS), which builds on measures taken by USDA and federal and state partners since the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in dairy cattle was first detected in March 2024. USDA is issuing a new Federal Order, as well as accompanying guidance, requiring that raw (unpasteurized) milk samples nationwide be collected and shared with USDA for testing. (Feedstuffs)
- SCOTLAND A case of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) has been confirmed on a farm in Dumfries and Galloway today. Precautionary movement restrictions have been put in place, with investigations under way to identify the origin of the disease outbreak. The animal did not enter the human food chain and Food Standards Scotland has confirmed this case poses no risk to human health. (co.uk)
- US – ASF RESEARCH Kansas State University researchers have published the findings of a study that looked at ways of detecting the presence of the African swine fever (ASF) virus on the surfaces of trucks, shipping containers and other materials entering the United States. The researchers swabbed surfaces that have come in close contact with feed using four materials (a four-inch square cotton gauze, polyester tipped swabs, sponge sticks and a dry sweep cloth) and then used PCR testing on the sample to diagnose the infectious disease. (com)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
A little over two years ago, Covetrus, one of the US’s big three animal health distributors, became a private company after the acquisition by funds Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and TPG Capital and we learned this week that another of the big three is also going private.
There was a hint of something strategic happening at Patterson Companies during the company’s 2nd quarter earnings call last week. The company announced this week that it will be taken private by Patient Square Capital in a $4.1B deal. Through the 2Q, which ended in October, Patterson had YTD revenue of $3.2 billion (83% in the US) with $2.0 billion coming from its animal health business and $1.2 billion from its dental distribution business. The animal health distribution business is almost twice as large as the dental business and was performing better than it too.
We also note that the biggest competitor to the big three, Midwest Veterinary Supply, closed last month on its acquisition of Victor Medical, which provided Midwest greater access to veterinary clinics in the western US.
Publicly-traded companies turn into private companies for lots of reasons: freedom from public market scrutiny, strategic and operational flexibility, valuation and market discrepancies, and several others. We will have to wait until next year to see what changes are ahead for Patterson but we hope they are all positive.
Bob Jones
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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked about potential tariffs and changes in trade policies and their impact on the companies that operate in the animal health business in 2025. Over half of the respondents (53%) felt that they would be overall negative for the animal health business. The other half of respondents were equally split between overall positive (22%) and not very much of an effect (25%) on the animal health business. It probably won’t take too long into next year to find out who is right.
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