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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for January 13, 2023
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting News
2023 Industry Overview – register now
Brakke Consulting welcomes new consultant
Animal Health Jobs- Executive Director Position
Other News
Agrivida
EpiVax
FirstVet
Heart + Paw
Hill’s Pet Nutrition
Hilltop BioSciences
Mars Petcare – pet genome database
Mars Petcare – The Pack
Microchip ID Systems
Novus International
The Pack
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming
Zarasyl
Zoetis – Solensia
Zoetis – EpiVax
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BRAKKE CONSULTING
Mauri Moreira Joins Brakke Consulting Team
Brakke Consulting is pleased to announce the appointment of Mauri Ronan Moreira to its team of consultants, bringing a scope of experience gathered from over 30 years of management and leadership positions in the animal health industry. Mauri is Brakke Consulting’s first consultant based in Latin America.
Mauri, a veterinarian based on São Paulo, Brazil, is an expert in sales, marketing and innovation across nearly all species in the animal health industry. Mauri’s career has spanned companion animal pharmaceutical and nutritional products, as well as the farm animal market, with specialized focus in aquaculture, cattle and swine. He has held senior level leadership positions with several major animal health companies, including Elanco, Novartis, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition and has experience working in countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
Mauri is a graduate of Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil with a degree in Veterinary Medicine. He also obtained an MBA from FIA – USP in Brazil. He can be reached at maurironan@mrconsultvet.com.
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KC ANIMAL HEALTH CORRIDOR
ANIMAL HEALTH SUMMIT
NOW ACCEPTING 2023 EMERGING COMPANY APPLICATIONS
The KC Animal Health Corridor is now accepting applications from early-stage companies to present at the 15th annual Animal Health Summit, held in Kansas City on August 28-29, 2023.
The 15th annual Summit is one of the only opportunities in the world for early-stage companies in the animal health and nutrition sectors to present their vision, business plan and technology to potential investors.
The selection committee will consider companies that meet the following criteria:
– Seeking $500,000 – $20 million in funding, or strategic partnerships to advance a company’s technology
– Revenue projections of $20 million within 5-7 years
Applications are due by April 3. To apply to present as an emerging company, visit the Animal Health Summit application page
For more information, contact Kimberly Young at young@thinkkc.com.
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Zoetis announced that Solensia (frunevetmab injection) for cats is now available for ordering. (company announcement)
- EpiVax, Inc. and Zoetis announced an exclusive collaboration to develop CircoMatch, a bioinformatics tool that predicts the coverage of porcine circovirus type 2 vaccines against field isolates of PCV2. CircoMatch applies the EpiVax EpiCC (Epitope Content Comparison) tool and EpiVax PigMatrix algorithm in a custom-built website, which performs a detailed comparison between PCV2 vaccines and circulating field strains of the PCV2 virus. (National Hog Farmer)
- Mars Petcare announced it is partnering with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to create one of the largest open access cat and dog genome databases in the world. Genomes from 10,000 dogs and 10,000 cats enrolled in the Mars Petcare Biobank initiative will be sequenced over the next 10 years. The full genome sequence and variant data of the 20,000 pets will be made publicly available via the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive. (PRNewswire)
- Hill’s Pet Nutrition announced it is expanding and relocating its headquarters from Topeka to Overland Park in the Greater Kansas City area. The company will continue to invest in its global science, technology and manufacturing hubs in Topeka. (com)
- Novus International announced it has acquired Agrivida, Inc., maker of the proprietary Interius technology Agrivida developed to embed feed additives inside grain. The acquisition follows a 2-year commercial partnership between the companies. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Feed strategy)
- Zarasyl announced the launch of Zarasyl Companion Animal Solution for wounds & abrasions, is formulated with a unique regenerative formula contains amorphous silica with a molecular structure tailored to provide sustained delivery of orthosilicic acid to the skin. (company press release)
- Hilltop BioSciences announced the launch of three new regenerative therapy formulations for companion animals: Regenaflex-K9, a regenerative soft tissue therapy; Regenaflex-M Biofilm, a scaffold formulation that accelerates tissue healing; and PureOptic eye drops. (company press release)
- Microchip ID Systems announced a partnership with FirstVet through which FirstVet will provide telehealth services to Microchip ID Systems customers that register their companion animals to the BuddyID registry and sign up with FirstVet. (company press release)
- Heart + Paw announced that co-owned, brand new de novo practices will be the predominant model for Heart + Paw practice. Currently, the Heart + Paw portfolio includes 10 de novo practices and 18 family partner locations. (PRnewswire)
- UK Vegan dog-food start-up The Pack announced it has raised GBP835,000 (US$995,514) in a seed-funding round. Backers included Mars Petcare division’s Leap Ventures accelerator. (Pet Products Smartbrief – Just Food)
- CANADA Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming announced it will open its first store in Canada in 2023, with plans to open 200 locations in the country. Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming currently has 200 locations open or under development across 18 states in the US, offering spa services, treats and pet nutrition. (Pet Business)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING
Announcing the 2023 Brakke Industry Overview
Presented at VMX: Monday, January 16th, 2-4 pm, Hyatt Regency, Orlando N
Presented at WVC: Monday, February 20th, 2-4 pm, Four Seasons Hotel, Acacia 1
Come join us at Brakke Consulting’s annual Industry Overview presented at VMX and WVC next year. Key topics and presenters include:
- Industry and top global company performance, presented by Bob Jones
- Continuing consolidation of and labor shortages in vet practices, including their response to inflation, presented by John Volk
- A closer look at pet pharmacy consumerization and how we can all thrive in this new era, presented by Candise Goodwin
- Trends, challenges, and opportunities facing animal health companies in finding talent in today’s business environment, presented by Jeff Santosuosso
Also, moderated by Paul Casady, a panel of industry leaders will discuss their views on the subject of “Managing Animal Health Companies in Times of Uncertainty”. Confirmed speakers are VMX are:
- Scott Bormann, Sr. Vice President, North America, Merck Animal Health
- Kurt Green, President and CEO, Vetsource
- Kevin Pohlman, President, Animal Health, Patterson Companies
To learn more about and sign up for the Industry Overview, click here. You can also email Amanda McDavid or call us at 336-396-3916.
www.BrakkeConsulting.com
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – PET SALES New York’s Governor has signed the “Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill” into law. The ban, which aims to stop the purchase and sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits from “large-scale, abusive breeders that lack proper veterinary care, food, or socialization,” will take effect in December 2024. The new regulation will allow pet stores to host adoption facilities in conjunction with animal shelters or rescue organizations. (ny.gov)
- US – SHELTER GUIDELINES The Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) released the second edition of its Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters. Originally created in 2010, these guidelines serve as a resource for the housing, husbandry, medical, and behavior care of animals that live in shelters. (DVM360)
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ANIMALHEALTHJOBS.COM
SEEKING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR HUMANE SOCIETY
The Humane Society of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is hiring an Executive Director, who will lead shelter operations and transform it into a state-of-the-art pet adoption center. With new innovative programs to increase adoptions and promote spaying and neutering the Executive Director will help to establish the organization as the center of humane education for the Island of St. Thomas.
To learn more about this open position and to apply, click here.
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
Innovation seems to be the at the forefront of 2023. Last week, we heard about the first-ever vaccine for honeybees (from Dalan Animal Health); and the first-ever injectable pentosan approved for equine osteoarthritis (from Anzac Animal Health). This week, Zoetis’ Solensia was launched, along with several novel regenerative therapies.
Much of the innovation in today’s animal health space seems to originate from startups rather than the established animal health leaders. While Solensia’s development was completed by Zoetis, the technology was acquired when Zoetis bought biotech startup Nexvet Biopharma several years ago. The other products mentioned were all developed by animal health startups. It’s exciting to see so many new products, especially those that represent new solutions to unique challenges.
I’m looking forward to attending next week’s VMX meeting, and learning what other innovations are coming our way.
Lynn Fondon
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YOUR VIEW
Last week we asked how easy you think recruiting talented people for your company will be in 2023 relative to 2022. Half of you (51%) said it will be about the same, but many more of you feel it will be harder (39%) than easier (10%). For those of you expecting recruiting challenges, we can help – contact Jeff Santosuosso to learn how.
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