The Experts in Animal Health

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for January 25, 2019
Copyright © Brakke Consulting, Inc.

Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:

Brakke Consulting news
John Volk honored
New consultant joins Brakke
Industry Overview
OTC Channel

earnings news
Hill’s
Vetoquinol

other news
Bactana
Bayer Animal Health
Boehringer Ingelheim
Henry Schein
IDEXX
ImaBiotech
Mars China plant
Mars Henry Schein
Motega Health
Nutramax Labs
OCR
One Health Company
PetDesk
PSIvet
Purchasing Services Inc.
Simini Technologies
Techcyte

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BRAKKE CONSULTING
MIKE MCGINLEY JOINS BRAKKE TEAM

Brakke Consulting is pleased to announce the addition of Michael McGinley, Ph.D., to the Brakke team.

Mike is a 35-year veteran of the animal health industry in the vaccine, pharmaceutical, and diagnostics segments for both food and companion animals. He has a proven history of success in product development, regulatory affairs, new business development, and manufacturing operations leadership. Mike will assist Brakke clients with science and technology assessments and provide guidance along the product development pathway from proof of concept to commercialization.

Mike can be reached at mjmcginley813@gmail.com or 970-893-0518.

www.BrakkeConsulting.com

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COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES

• Vetoquinol reported results for the full year 2018. Sales were EUR 368 million ($420 million), an increase of 3% over the prior year (up 5.8% at constant exchange rates). (company website)

• Colgate-Palmolive Company reported results for the full year 2018. Sales for Hill’s Pet Nutrition were $2,388 million, an increase of 4% compared to the prior year. (company press release)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING, INC.
John Volk Honored by VetPartners

Brakke Senior Consultant John Volk received VetPartners’ Pioneer Professional Award at its recent annual meeting in Orlando. VetPartners is the association of veterinary practice consultants. The award was given to John “In recognition of your vision and contributions to the business of the veterinary profession.”

“John is the author of five landmark studies on veterinary business practices, supply and demand for veterinary services, and the financial and mental health of veterinarians. He is also widely recognized for his expertise in pet insurance, preventive care plans and veterinary practice consolidation,” said VetPartners past president Tracy Dowdy in presenting the award.

John has been a Brakke consultant since 1994.

www.BrakkeConsulting.com

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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• Bayer Animal Health announced the launch of Coraxis (moxidectin) Topical Solution for Dogs, a prescription-only, monthly transdermal product that prevents heartworm disease and treats and controls hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms in dogs. (PRNewswire)

• IDEXX announced the introduction of a new canine progesterone test for Catalyst Dx and Catalyst One chemistry analyzers. This in-house diagnostic will help veterinarians determine when a dog is ready to breed by providing a reliable, quantitative, point-of-care measure of progesterone levels to ascertain ovulation status. IDEXX will begin shipping the new test by the end of March. (company press release)

• Henry Schein reported in an SEC filing that Mars will combine most of its veterinary distribution purchases with one partner that is a Schein competitor – a move that will result in Henry Schein losing an estimated 3% of its annual sales. Schein was previously a primary distributor of animal health products to VCA, which was acquired by Mars in 2017. The firm also distributes products on behalf of Pet Partners, a network of US veterinary hospitals owned by Mars. (Animal Pharm)

• Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences, Inc. announced the launch of two new products. imuquin contains NMX580, a combination of beta-glucan and omega-3 fatty acids, along with vitamins and minerals, to support normal immune function in puppies and adult dogs. Mycequin is a targeted probiotic for dogs containing NMXAAD, a proprietary blend of Saccharomyces boulardii and beta-glucan, formulated to help support healthy intestinal function even when used at the same time as antibiotics. (company press release)

• Purchasing Services Inc. announced that the company is changing its name to PSIvet “to reflect the expansion of the business beyond the current offering of a group purchasing organization (GPO),” according to a release. The new company name, PSIvet, stands for “Professional Services for the Independent Veterinarian.” (Vet Advantage)

• Bactana Corp announced the recent closing of its first equity investment round, garnering $1.3 million. The company will use the financing proceeds to expand its laboratory at in its new facilities located at the UCONN Health Cell & Genome Science Center, perform additional trials using its FPS-4 product platform, hire technical experts, and develop commercial manufacturing capabilities in preparation for its initial product launch. (PRweb.com, Hartfordbusiness.com)

• Techcyte, a leading developer of AI-based image analysis solutions for the diagnostics industry, announced the launch of Vetcyte, an AI-powered digital diagnostics platform for veterinarians. Initially, the Vetcyte platform supports the following canine-and-feline diagnostic tests: 10-minute Fecal Ova and Parasite; 10-minute Digital 6-part Blood Differential; Same-day FNA analysis (through a collaboration with ZN Labs). (APNews)

• Motega Health announced a licensing agreement with Canadian pharmaceutical firm Simini Technologies to develop a therapy for muscle loss in aging pets and those with osteoarthritis. Motega will provide Simini with a North American royalty-bearing license to research, develop and commercialize a novel therapy for pets. Simini will then be accountable for all additional research and commercial activities under the agreement. (Animal Pharm)

• One Health Company announced that it has raised $5 million in seed funding from top Silicon Valley investors. The company will sequence a dog’s tumor and generate a report with recommendations for targeted therapies. The company is also involved in the delivery system for the drugs it recommends. (AVMA Smartbrief – Statnews.com)

• PetDesk announced they have raised $12 million from Silicon Valley-based firm PeakSpan Capital. PetDesk, which offers an online platform for veterinary practices and a free app for pet parents to seamlessly communicate, plans to use this Series B funding to expand from the veterinary industry into the pet grooming industry. (APNews)

• CHINA Boehringer Ingelheim announced that its first wholly-owned manufacturing plant in China has begun supplying the local swine market with veterinary vaccines. The Taizhou plant is producing Ingelvac PRRS MLV vaccines for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome; more swine vaccines will be added to the plant’s production line in the next three to four years. (Animal Pharm)

• CHINA Mars Inc., for pet food and other food products, announced an agreement to set up a pet food plant in north China, in the region Tianjin. The investment of the project is over 100 million U.S. dollars. The new plant will produce high-end and diverse pet food for Chinese customers and also research and develop more high-end products and is expected to produce more than 250,000 tonnes of products every year. (GlobalPets)

• EU OCR and ImaBiotech announced the launch of a new preclinical service for Biotech-Pharma-MedTech companies that allows drug efficacy and target exposure services at cellular level using Pets with naturally occurring tumors. (company press release)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING, INC.
UNDERSTANDING THE OVER-THE-COUNTER MARKET

Whether your business is considering the OTC channels for new business opportunities or you have been distributing in the OTC channels for years, Brakke Consulting’s team can provide significant and quality assistance to businesses seeking to learn more about the details of the OTC channels of distribution. If you are looking for meaningful insights into the OTC channels, the trends found there, and the opportunities that exist, contact our Dallas office or Joel Adamson at adamson.joel@cox.net .

www.BrakkeConsulting.com

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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – NEWCASTLE DISEASE The USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of virulent Newcastle disease (VND) in a small flock of backyard exhibition chickens in Utah County, Utah. This is the first case of VND in Utah; it is believed to be connected to the current VND outbreak in California, as three of the birds at the premises were recently moved to Utah from Los Angeles County, California. (Feedstuffs)

• US – BOVINE TB The North Dakota Department of Agriculture announced that it is investigating a beef herd in Sargent County after bovine tuberculosis (TB) was identified. This bovine TB strain has not been previously identified in the US and is most similar to cases that have been identified in cattle in Mexico. (Feedstuffs)

• US – SWINE INDUSTRY The US pork industry announced that it has aligned its efforts to reduce the risks from foreign animal disease and has formed the National Swine Disease Council. NSDC leadership includes representatives from the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council, the North American Meat Institute, the Swine Health Information Center, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and the USDA, as well as state animal health officials. (Vet Advantage – National Hog Farmer)

• US – CAT NUTRITION The Pet Food Institute (PFI) launched a new series of interactive infographics showing the ways that key nutrients found in a complete and balanced cat food recipe help pets. The new web resource, “Nutrition from Whisker to Paw,” provides fast facts about the essential nutrition that fuels cats’ growth and supports their body systems, as well as non-essential nutrients that can also serve important functions. A similar resource for dogs was launched in 2017. (Pet Product News)

• UK – AVIAN INFLUENZA RESEARCH Scientists at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland are developing gene-edited chickens using CRISPR technology that are designed to be totally resistant to avian influenza. The first of the transgenic chicks will be hatched later this year. (AVMA Smartbrief – Reuters)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING, INC.
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW AT WVC

COULDN’T MAKE IT AT VMX? CATCH THE OVERVIEW IN VEGAS!

“Growth, Disruption and Innovation”:
Brakke Consulting Industry Overview 2019

Industry executives will have an opportunity to gain new insights into the events and trends that are most shaping the animal health industry by attending Brakke Consulting’s annual Industry Overview at the VMX and WVC veterinary conferences in early 2019. “Growth, Disruption and Innovation” is the theme of this year’s presentation.

The 2019 Animal Health Industry Overview will be presented twice this winter – once at the VMX in Orlando, Florida in January and once at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The date for the WVC Overview is:

• WVC: Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, Four Seasons.

Registration for the WVC Industry Overviews is now open. Seating is limited this year, so register early!

To register, go to www.brakkeconsulting.com and scroll down to the “What’s New” box. The price is $400 per person for online registration through Friday, February 15; late registration is $450. Discounts are available for multiple attendees from the same company; call 972-243-4033 for more information.

www.BrakkeConsulting.com

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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT

Last week I mentioned how I had been fortunate to work with, for and among some great people in our industry. I was reminded of this while attending the NAVC’s VMX: Veterinary Meeting and Expo in Orlando, Florida this week. I was able to reconnect with many friends and colleagues and if you were there, I hope you did too.

The sense I received from the trade show was that the industry was in a good spot and many were optimistic for what’s ahead in 2019. There was plenty of speculation about what was next, especially concerning how animal health companies delivered their products and services to veterinary clinics and to pet owners. We cover these topics in our annual Overview. IF you didn’t attend at VMX, please join us in Las Vegas at WVC next month. It will be well worth your while; several attendees told us it’s our meatiest Overview ever.

But back to people. I also mentioned last week that I am fortunate to work with some great people here in Brakke Consulting and one of those was recognized in Orlando – John Volk. As described above, John was recognized by Vet Partners, the association of veterinary practice consultants, and received their Pioneer Professional Award. I am amazed at both the breadth and the depth of John’s knowledge of our industry and his curiosity towards it too. It is a pleasure to learn from him and work with him.

And I am looking forward to working with the newest consultant to join our team, Dr. Mike McGinley. Mike brings a special set of skills and expertise to our team and will quickly expand our strengths, particularly in the biological, manufacturing and regulatory areas. Not only does Mike have a significant background in and understanding of the technical side of the animal health business, he has used this expertise to drive business success.

One of my favorite maxims is, “It’s all about people”, and with that in mind, please congratulate John and welcome Mike.

Thanks,

Bob Jones

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For more information about Brakke Consulting’s services and syndicated studies, visit our website at www.brakkeconsulting.com.

Brakke Consulting, Inc.
12005 Ford Rd., Suite 530
Dallas, TX 75234 USA

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