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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for December 15, 2023
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting news
Industry Overview at VMX and WVC
Complimentary Brakke Recruiting Seminar at VMX
Other News
Alveolus Bio
American Aquarium Products
Anitoa Systems
Aquanest Biotic
Aquarium Pharmacy
Assisi Pet Care Group
Ayurvet
Balderton Capital
BiomEdit
Burns Pet Nutrition
California Veterinary Supply
Cenquip
Chewy (Chewy Vet Care)
Chewy (FDA)
EVERY
Filu Vet
JustAnswer
Kane Veterinary Supplies
Kraft Drug
Lassie
Meowtel
Merck
Midland Veterinary Services
Patterson
Petzey
QSM Diagnostics
Silver Lease
SOLVET
Spot Pet Insurance
Valley Veterinary Clinic
Vetster
Zenex
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Brakke Consulting
Announcing Brakke Consulting’s Inaugural Recruiting Seminar
Monday, January 15 at VMX
Hyatt Regency, Orlando Ballroom N Orlando, FL
Hiring managers and talent professionals, join us for an informative and practical seminar at VMX hosted by Executive Recruiter Jeff Santosuosso. We’ll review and discuss the latest ways of breaking through the clutter to attract and hire top talent in today’s increasingly challenging global marketplace. Specific topics will include: attracting Millennials and Gen Z, using video, how to avoid pitfalls in recruiting, and more. If you’re in the market for talent, we know you’ll leave our seminar better equipped and more confident about hiring those stars for your team.
The seminar will be held at the Hyatt Regency, Orlando Ballroom N, Monday January 15, 11:00-12:00 noon. There is no cost, but please RSVP here to secure your seat.
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Chewy announced the launch of its pet health practices under the brand name “Chewy Vet Care.” The first practice will open in South Florida early next year with additional locations launching throughout 2024, and offer services including routine appointments, urgent care and surgery. (company press release)
- Anitoa Systems LLC announced worldwide availability of its “all-in-one” swine flu test for livestock. Included in the test kit is an Anitoa’s Maverick portable qPCR instrument, lyophilized swine flu test qPCR reagent and a one-time-use sample collection tube with pre-filled lysis buffer solution. (Vet Advantage)
- Petzey and Meowtel announced a collaboration to offer the “Cat’s Meow Bundle,” which combines cat-sitting services from Meowtel and professional telehealth consultations from Petzey. The Cat’s Meow Bundle is available in three options: Basic, Premium, and Premium+. (Pet Business)
- SOLVET announced its partnership with the National 4H Council, centered around the launch of their latest product, lidoband, an innovative product designed to help address the pain and discomfort associated with castration in calves and lambs. SOLVET will donate 5 cents from each lidoband sold to the National 4H Council. (company press release)
- Alveolus Bio announced a strategic scientific collaboration with BiomEdit. Alveolus Bio will be studying BiomEdit’s proprietary consortium of commensal strains, which secrete metabolites with documented anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties. In turn, BiomEdit will explore the application of Alveolus Bio’s resMIT (respiratory microbiota-based inhaled therapeutics) platform to assess its potential in the development of respiratory therapeutics in companion animals. (PRnewswire)
- Spot Pet Insurance announced an exclusive partnership with AAA to offer AAA members access to pet insurance coverage. (company press release)
- JustAnswer announced the launch of Pearl for Pets GPT, a ChatGPT add-on that enables people to have verified and vetted, human veterinarians and animal behavior experts review and rate the accuracy of AI-generated, pet-related query responses. (Pet Business)
- Ingredient innovator EVERY recently announced the launch of EVERY Egg, the world’s first liquid egg product made without the hen. EVERY Egg is made by yeast fermentation, and can be used as a 1:1 drop-in across all culinary applications where eggs are used. (Feedstuffs)
- The FDA announced the issuance of nine warning letters to manufacturers and distributors of unapproved and misbranded antimicrobial animal drugs for violations of federal law. The animal products referenced in the warning letters are marketed and labeled for minor species such as aquarium fish and pet birds, and are being illegally marketed over the counter. The following companies received warning letters: American Aquarium Products; Aquanest Biotic; Aquarium Pharmacy LLC; California Veterinary Supply; Chewy Inc.; Kraft Drug; Midland Veterinary Services LLC; Silver Lease LLC; and Valley Veterinary Clinic LTD. (FDA)
- EU Merck Animal Health announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) issued a positive opinion for Bravecto (fluralaner) 150 mg/ml powder and solvent for suspension for injection for dogs with a 12-month duration of action. (company press release)
- UK Assisi Pet Care Group, a Wind Point Partners portfolio company, announced it is acquiring UK-based pet food company Burns Pet Nutrition for an undisclosed amount. (GlobalPets)
- CANADA Patterson Veterinary announced that NaVetor cloud software is now available for sale in Canada. Veterinarians can purchase the software through Patterson’s Canadian company, Kane Veterinary Supplies. (company press release)
- AUSTRALIA QSM Diagnostics announced a distribution agreement with Cenversa, the parent company of Cenquip Pty Ltd, Australia’s leader in innovative veterinary equipment and digital imaging solutions for animal health professionals. (Prweb)
- CANADA Vetster announced a partnership with Air Canada to provide around-the-clock access to Vetster’s virtual veterinary services for pets traveling in cargo. Trained Air Canada personnel can now use Vetster on behalf of pet parents to connect with licensed veterinarians, who can support pets traveling in cargo and in need of medical assistance. Following the trip, pets’ medical files are sent to the parent’s local vet. (yahoo finance)
- INDIA Animal health company Zenex announced it is acquiring Ayurvet, a company supplying ayurvedic and herbal medicines, feed supplements and topical treatments for farm and companion animals. Financial terms were not disclosed. (com)
- SWEDEN Pet insurance firm Lassie announced it has raised EUR 23 million ($24.9M) in a Series B funding round, with UK-based venture capital firm Balderton Capital The fund will be used to expand the company’s footprint in Europe. (Globalpets)
- GERMANY Veterinary services provider Filu Vet announced it has closed a seed funding round of EUR 5.1 million ($5.5M). (Globalpets)
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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Brakke Consulting
Presented at VMX: Monday, January 15th, 2-4 pm, Hyatt Regency, Orlando Ballroom N
Presented at WVC: Monday, February 19th, 2-4 pm, Four Seasons Hotel
How did the top animal health companies perform in 2023? And what critical issues will impact industry performance in 2024? 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 performance, presented by Bob Jones
- What 2023 looked like in vet practices and with pets, presented by John Volk
- An overview of the post-COVID home delivery channel for pet medications including results from the new Pet Medicines Home Delivery Study, presented by Rich Hayworth
- With recent advancements in technology-related products in livestock production and pet care, where is the value and what are the risks? presented by Lourens Havenga
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 2024.” 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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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – FEED ADDITIVES Several members of Congress have introduced the Innovative Feed Enhancement and Economic Development Act of 2023 (Innovative FEED Act) to de-regulates animal feed additives. The Innovative FEED Act intends to creating a new category of animal feeds called “zootechnical animal food substances” (defined as substances that only act within the GI tract of the animal to lower food pathogens, reduce byproducts for animals, or affect its gut microbiome); and regulate zootechnical animal food substances within FDA’s existing Food Additive Petition process for market approval. (Feedstuffs)
- US – XYLAZINE The House of Representatives passed the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. The Act, in part, fights the illicit use of xylazine in humans while preserving access to the drug for use in animals. (Bovine Veterinarian)
- WORLD – METHANE EMISSIONS Six of the world’s largest dairy companies – Danone, Bel Group, General Mills, Lactalis USA, Kraft Heinz and Nestle – announced that they will begin disclosing their methane emissions in 2024 as part of a new global alliance: the Dairy Methane Action Alliance. (Vet Advantage – Reuters)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
Which country around the world has the highest ratio of veterinarians per capita? If you said Lativa, you’d be right. Latvia has a population of 1.9 million people and has 129 veterinarians per 100,000 inhabitants. Which country is second? That would be the country where I am from, Brazil, which has 77.4 veterinarians per 100,000 inhabitants, or 166,119 practicing veterinarians in a population of 214 million. By contrast, the average across Europe is 38 veterinarians per 100,000 inhabitants.
Brazil may be experiencing a new boom in veterinary medicine, with the development of new veterinary specialties and a consequent increase in the standard of care for dogs and cats. This is a great opportunity for companies in the sector.
Despite this, there is a worry that there are too many veterinarians in Brazil. Many feel that this oversupply has led to stiff competition for jobs, lower salaries, and a decline in the quality of veterinary care.
Perhaps the oversupply of veterinarians is starting to impact younger veterinarians as a recent study shows a much greater level of dissatisfaction with their veterinary medicine coursework than older veterinarians. It would be a shame that as Brazil’s resilient economy strengthens and veterinary services for pets improves, veterinarians are more unhappy.
Mauri Ronan Moreira
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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked about your plans for your pets as you travel for the holidays. 33% said you will bring your pets with you, and 33% said friends or family will take care of your pets. 14% will board your pets, and 5% will use a combination of options. Only 9% said you will use Rover.com or a similar pet sitting service..
This week
This week let’s see what you think of Chewy’s plan to open veterinary practices, as mentioned above. Chewy claims to be America’s #1 pharmacy, will ship medications to pet owner’s home for veterinarians (PracticeHub) has a tele-triage service, sells pet insurance and wellness plans, and runs an eCommerce business that sells everything a pet owner needs.
What impact do you think this announcement will have on independent veterinary practices in the US?
If you’d like to tell your thoughts about Chewy opening veterinary practices, click here; we’d love to hear your thoughts.
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