Animal Health News & Notes for June 12, 2020

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for June 12, 2020
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:

Earnings News
Chewy
DS Pharma Animal Health

Other News
Afimilk
Alphia
American Nutrition
Bayer (Elanco)
Bayer (Bioiberica)
Better Choice Company
Bioiberica
The Bridge Club
Cargill
C.J. Foods
Dechra
Elanco (Bayer)
Elanco (Experior)
Elanco (ractopamine)
Ellie Diagnostics
Halo, Purely for Pets
Huvepharma
Impossible Foods
JBS USA
J. M. Smucker
Kindred Biosciences
LeVet
LIC Livestock Improvement
Merck
Miller Veterinary Supply
National Beef
Osprey Biotechnics
Phibro Animal Health
Royal Canin
Smart.Vet
TeleVet
Trouw Nutrition
Trupanion
Tyson
Vaxxinova US
The Veterinary Cooperative
Vetsource
VetSuccess
Vetter Software
VitusVet
whiskerDocs
Zoetis (Pumpkin)
Zoetis (TBC Pets)

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SOUTHWEST VETERINARY SYMPOSIUM
Fort Worth, Texas at the Fort Worth Convention Center
September 24-27th, 2020

Early Bird Registration — Now Until July 16th

LEARN MORE. BE MORE. – SWVS is still ON for Fort Worth!

We will also offer our onsite lectures online as a virtual option.

Southwest Veterinary Symposium — a partnership of the Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Veterinary Medicine Associations which provides continuing education for veterinary professionals. Join us this September in Fort Worth, Texas where you can learn about the latest innovations and products, network with other veterinary professionals, explore design and renovation ideas and choose from more than 400+ hours of quality courses.

www.swvs.org

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COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES

• DS Pharma Animal Health reported results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. Sales were JPY 14.49 billion ($133 million), an increase of 10% over the prior year. DS Pharma’s companion animal division reported a 10.3% increase in sales, while the food animal business posted a 9.5% upturn. (Animal Pharm)
• Chewy, Inc. reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2020 ended May 3, 2020. Net sales were $1.62 billion, an increase of 46% year-over-year. Net loss was $(47.9) million for the quarter including share-based compensation expense of $42.3 million, compared to a loss of $(29.6) million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.4 million, an improvement of 122% year-over-year. (company press release)

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2020 DIGITAL ANIMAL HEALTH SUMMIT
AUGUST 31 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
Location: Online

The Corridor’s August event goes on(line)! Registration is now open.

Register today! The digital Animal Health Summit features 36 hours of 1:1 business partnering, keynote speaker David Hughes, 7+ on demand webinars, emerging company presentations, LIVE stream programming with industry leaders, LIVE networking and additional programming that supports the Spirit of Service – programming with impact. To lea

KC Animal Health Summit

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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• Zoetis announced it will make changes to Pumpkin, its new companion animal insurance offering, after receiving feedback from veterinarians who voiced concerns about Pumpkin’s preventative essentials package (PEP). The PEP is an optional element of the offering that reimbursed pet owners for a yearly wellness exam fee and vaccines administered, as well as a 12-month supply of Zoetis’ Simparica Trio (for dogs) or Revolution Plus (for cats). Zoetis will be suspending the flea, tick and heartworm components from the PEP and will also revise its Pumpkin strategy to introduce a new plan design, while ensuring any qualms from vets are addressed via a new advisory board made up of practitioners. (Animal Pharm)
• Elanco Animal Health announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted approval of Elanco’s pending acquisition of Bayer AG’s animal health business. The company continues to progress toward a mid-year closing, anticipated August 3, 2020. In addition to EC approval, Elanco has received antitrust clearance for the transaction in China, Colombia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, and provisional clearance in Brazil. (company press release)
• The Animal Legal Defense Fund, Food & Water Watch, and Food Animal Concerns Trust filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the FDA’s November 2018 approval of Elanco‘s Experior (lubabegron Type A medicated article), which is designed to reduce ammonia gas from cow manure. The plaintiffs argue that the drug is a threat to the animals, the environment, and the food supply. Experior is not currently marketed. (BloombergLaw.com)
• The Animal Legal Defense Fund, Food Animal Concerns Trust and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed an emergency petition with the US FDA to suspend approval of ractopamine (marketed by Elanco) due to COVID-19. The groups claim that the bottleneck at meatpacking plants and a national slowdown of slaughtering and processing animals for meat has led to animals being fed ractopamine for longer periods, threatening animal safety and welfare, human health and the environment. (Animal Pharm)
• Huvepharma announced it has received FDA approval for Vetmulin 12.5% (tiamulin hydrogen fumurate), a liquid concentrate antibiotic indicated for the treatment of swine dysentery and swine pneumonia. (Porkbusiness.com)
• Dechra Veterinary Products announced that it has acquired Dilaterol (clenbuterol hydrochloride), an oral bronchodilator for horses, from the Dutch veterinary pharma company, LeVet. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Vetsurgeon.org)
• Kindred Biosciences announced a plan to enhance its strategic position. The company will prioritize its most attractive late stage programs – especially the interleukin-31 (IL-31) antibody, interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) antibody, and parvovirus antibody programs – and substantially reduce expenses to best position it for success. (PRNewswire)
• Vaxxinova US (formerly Epitopix) announced Vaxxon SRP Klebsiella as the new name for KLEBVax SRP mastitis vaccine. Vaxxon SRP Klebsiella remains identical to KLEBVax and is the only vaccine licensed by the USDA for the management of mastitis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae spp. KLEBVax, formerly marketed by AgriLabs/Huvepharma, will now be marketed by Vaxxinova US. (company press release)
• M. Smucker Company announced it has named Rob Ferguson Senior Vice President and General Manager of its Pet Food and Pet Snacks business. Ferguson has been leading the business in an interim capacity since last year. (Globalpets)
• J. Foods, Inc. and American Nutrition, Inc. announced they have merged to form Alphia, a super-premium pet food manufacturer producing more than 1 billion pounds of pet food each year. (Pet Business)
• Osprey Biotechnics, a division of Phibro Animal Health and a developer of microbial products for environmental, industrial and agricultural applications, announced it has temporarily pivoted some operations to manufacturing hand sanitizer and providing donations to local institutions, frontline workers and essential workers in the US food supply chain. (Porkbusiness.com)
• VitusVet announced that it has been named a Preferred Client Communication Technology Partner for Miller Veterinary Supply. The VitusVet platform will now be available at preferred pricing for all of Miller Veterinary Supply’s 9000 member practices. (company press release)
• Trupanion and Vetter Software announced a partnership that includes an integration between Vetter Software’s cloud veterinary practice management software and Trupanion’s patented, proprietary software that enables direct payment to the veterinarian at the time of check-out. (company press release)
• VetSuccess and Vetsource have joined forces to bring veterinary practices a complete view of their pharmacy sales, whether purchased in-clinic or through their home delivery service. The VetSuccess Practice Overview Report now includes home delivery data from Vetsource alongside transaction data from individual practice management systems. (PRNewswire)
• TeleVet announced it has closed a $5 million Series A round of funding, led by existing investor Mercury Fund. TeleVet previously raised a $2.3 million seed round in December 2019. The new funding will enable TeleVet to grow its employee base and accelerate expansion of telemedicine services around vets and their work-life balance. (news.Crunchbase.com)
• A class action lawsuit has been filed against Tyson, Cargill, JBS USA and National Beef in the US District Court of Minnesota by Central Grocers for potential cattle market manipulation. Both the US Department of Justice and the USDA recently launched investigations into whether the meat companies unlawfully fixed domestic beef prices. The class action lawsuit alleges that the companies – which sold approximately 80% of the more than 25 million lb. of fresh and frozen beef supplied to the US market – conspired to constrain beef supplies since at least the start of 2015. (Feedstuffs)
• Impossible Foods recently launched a new e-commerce site that allows people in the lower 48 states to buy the plant-based Impossible Burger and cook it at home. Impossible Foods’ flagship product is now available in more than 3,000 grocery stores nationwide. (Feedstuffs)
• The Bridge Club announced the launch of The Bridge Club Pets (TBC Pets), a virtual community where pet owners can gather in a casual conversation to gain informed insight and guidance directly from veterinary professionals. The goal of TBC Pets, which is supported by Zoetis Petcare and whiskerDocs, is to further elevate the view of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. (company press release)
• Ellie Diagnostics, a full service veterinary diagnostics laboratory, has announced a strategic partnership with The Veterinary Cooperative – a veterinarian-owned purchasing cooperative – and its 4,000 members. (PRweb)
• CANADA Vet announced that they are partnering with Merck Animal Health and Royal Canin to allow Smart.Vet to offer their virtual care platform to Canadian veterinary clinics at 50% of the regular cost for 2 months. (Newswire.ca)
• EU Bioiberica announced an agreement with Bayer Animal Health to have its pet products distributed and marketed across multiple geographies. Bayer will sell Bioiberica’s joint, intestinal health and dermatology products in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and South Korea. In Spain and Portugal, the two companies have agreed a co-marketing agreement to jointly sell the products. (Animal Pharm)
• CHINA Better Choice Company announced that one of its subsidiaries, Halo, Purely for Pets, received Product Import Registrations for 15 Holistic Dog and Cat Food Diets from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. (Globenewswire)
• CANADA Trouw Nutrition announced a new strategic partnership with the University of Alberta. The agreement will create opportunities to both deepen existing collaborations as well as to explore new research and innovation opportunities in animal nutrition. (Feedstuffs)
• ISRAEL Israeli Kibbutz Afikim and private equity investor Fortissimo Capital announced that a deal to sell Afimilk, a computerized dairy farm management company, to New Zealand-based LIC Livestock Improvement International has fallen through. 70% of LIC’s shareholders voted against the acquisition of Afimilk, mainly due to the ramifications of the coronavirus epidemic on the world’s economy.  (calcalistech.com)

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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER

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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – DAIRY EXPO The World Dairy Expo Executive Committee announced, for the first time in its 53-year history, the cancellation of the 2020 expo based on public health orders and restrictions related to COVID-19 in Dane County, Wisconsin. World Dairy Expo 2020 was set to take place Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. (Feedstuffs)
• US – CONFERENCES The American Veterinary Medical Association announced the first AVMA Virtual Convention will be held August 20-22, 2020. AVMA Virtual Convention delivers over 130 hours of CE courses in an interactive learning and networking environment. All sessions will be available on-demand, following AVMA Virtual Convention. (association press release)
• US – CONFERENCES Petfood Forum 2020 announced is transitioning to an online event for this year, called Petfood Forum CONNECT, scheduled to take place in September 2020. Petfood Forum CONNECT will be live online on five days for a few hours each of those days. Most of the elements will also be available on demand to registrants for a set period after the live dates. The online event will also include the opportunity to meet virtually or chat via text with speakers, exhibitors and sponsors. (Petfood Industry)
• WORLD – CONFERENCES The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has postponed its 2020 World Congress because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global event was scheduled to be held in Warsaw, Poland, from 23-26 September. The Congress will now be held from 21-24 March 2021. The association’s 2021 Congress, set to run from 13-16 November in Hyderabad, India, will go ahead as scheduled. (association press release)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
COVID-19 continues to change our lives in many ways.  This newsletter and previous announcements point out that one change is the cancellation or transition of professional and trade meetings from in person to virtual experiences.  Many of the meetings that typically occur prior to October 1 have announced cancellation or a changed format. With the sponsors’ reliance on income from these meetings and conferences for the continuation of member benefits, will dues and fees need to be increased?  Will these virtual conferences garner adequate attendance and/or net income?  What is the future of trade show visibility for industry and income to sponsors?  Will the social aspects of attending face-to-face meetings help insure their continuation?  These are questions for changing times.

Cary Christensen

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YOUR VIEW
Last week we asked “Did your job move to remotely working from home in reaction to the coronavirus?”  65% of you told us that you are working from home due to COVID-19 and that 21% of you were working at home prior to COVID-19.  Only 3% said you were still going into the office or clinic as usual.  That probably means that 85% of you have become video conference aficionados by now.

This week’s question:

This week’s questions are about your use of video conferencing.  Click here to share your thoughts with us.

1. How often do you use video conferences for business communication?
2. With the relaxing of COVID-19 related lockdowns and the return to the office for many over the next few months, the use of video conferencing:
3. How do you feel about the effectiveness of video conferencing for business communication?

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