Animal Health News & Notes for May 16, 2025

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for May 16, 2025
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Earnings News
Animalcare Group
ImmuCell
JBS
Petz
Spectrum Brands

Other News
Adapet
Antech
Bactana
Dairy Management
Dechra
Digital Landia
Good Salt Life
Kemin Industries
Koala Health
Merck (Armatrex)
Merck (expansion)
Modulant Biosciences
Norbrook
Northstrive Biosciences
OS Animal Health
Petfolk
PetVivo
Radimal
Respond Animal Therapeutics
The Veterinary Cooperative
Vivos
Zoetis
Zomedica
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EARNINGS NEWS RELEASES

• Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. reported results from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 ended March 30, 2025. Global Pet Care net sales were $269 million, a year-over-year decline of 7%. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $50.0 million, a decline of 20%. (company website)
• ImmuCell Corporation announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2025. Product sales increased by 11% to approximately $8.1 million compared to the first quarter of 2024. Net income was $1.4 million, in contrast to a net loss of ($438,000) during the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. (company press release)
• Animalcare Group reported results for the full year 2024. Revenue was GBP 74.2 million ($98.7 million), flat on FY 2023. Net income was GBP 4.8 million ($6.4 million), up 302% from FY 2023. (yahoo.com)
• JBS A. reported results for the first quarter of 2025. Net sales were $19.5 billion, an 8.5% increase year over year to $19.5 billion. Net profit jumped 50.5% to $500 million. The company attributed its strong results to the poultry and pork businesses in Brazil and the U.S. (Feedstuffs)
• Brazilian retailer Petz reported results for the first quarter of 2025. Revenues surpassed R$1 billion ($178 million), representing an 8% increase compared to the same quarter in 2024. (Global Pets)

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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), Dairy Management (DMI) and Zoetis announced the launch of the Dairy Health, Efficiency & Resource Dynamics (Dairy HERD) Initiative. The goal for this $1.3 million research collaboration is to advance research in animal health, ensure the economic viability of the U.S. dairy industry and improve environmental outcomes. FFAR is currently accepting research proposals requesting between $500,000 and $1 million per project for projects lasting up to two years. (Feedstuffs)
• Merck Animal Health announced the commercial availability of Armatrex (silane quaternary ammonium salt), an EPA-registered, spray-on antimicrobial solution, as part of a partnership agreement with Good Salt Life, LLC, the product manufacturer. Merck Animal Health will market and sell the product in the United States. (company press release)
• Merck Animal Health announced an $895 million expansion of Merck Animal Health’s manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas. The 200,000-square-foot project will be constructed on an existing Merck-owned property that is the site of its biologics facility, and will expand filling and freeze dryer capacity for large molecule vaccines and biologic products. (company press release)
• Dechra announced the launch of Catney One, a new health supplement for feline kidney health that reduces phosphate absorption. (company press release)
• The Veterinary Cooperative (TVC) announced a new partnership with Norbrook Animal Health. This collaboration focuses on Felanorm, Norbrook’s new solution designed to support hyperthyroidism in cats. (businesswire)
• Antech announced the launch of two new vector-borne disease diagnostics in their portfolio: enhanced Accuplex, a reference lab canine vector-borne disease (CVBD) screening test which now detects seven pathogens; and an enhanced vector-borne disease PCR Profile. (company press release)
• Zomedica announced the launch of the Equine Asthma Clinical Registry, a program utilizing PulseVet shock wave therapy as a non-invasive, drug-free treatment for equine asthma. The initiative aims to gather real-world clinical evidence on the effectiveness of electrohydraulic extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in treating respiratory conditions in horses. (net)
• Adapet announced the launch of its Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system, specifically designed for diabetes management in companion animals. (financialcontent.com)
• Bactana , a biotechnology company developing advancements in anaerobic bacteria isolation and fermentation, announced it has agreed to be acquired by Kemin Industries, Inc. Bactana’s proprietary technology is designed to support metabolic and intestinal health in companion animals, while also offering sustainable solutions to reduce antibiotic use and conserve natural resources in livestock production. Financial terms were not disclosed. (finance.yahoo.com)
• Digital Landia, LLC, in cooperation with PetVivo Holdings, Inc. announced the upcoming launch of AgenticPet.ai, the world’s first autonomous pet care AI ecosystem. AgenticPet.ai brings multiple capabilities to everyday pet care scenarios, including The Pet Translator; Early Disease Detection; and Comprehensive Wellness Reports. (globenewswire)
• Respond Systems, a Paw Prosper portfolio company, announced it is now Respond Animal Therapeutics. Respond Animal Therapeutics offers laser therapy and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy to the equine and pet industries. (businesswire)
• Vivos announced that the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital has been certified to offer IsoPet Precision Radionuclide Therapy as part of its oncology services. (globenewswire)
• Radimal announced a strategic partnership with Petfolk to become the exclusive provider of teleradiology services across the entire Petfolk network. (com)
• Koala Health announced it has raised $20M in Series B funding for its chronic pet medication delivery service. The round was led by Valspring Capital. (Vet Advantage)
• OS Therapies, a clinical-stage immunotherapy and Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) biopharmaceutical company, today announced the launch of OS Animal Health, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary focused on commercializing OST-HER2 for the treatment of canine osteosarcoma. OST-HER2 is an off-the-shelf immunotherapy candidate that has shown positive clinical data in both human pediatric and canine osteosarcoma. (com)
• Northstrive Biosciences, a subsidiary of PMGC Holdings Inc., announced the signing of a binding term sheet with Modulant Biosciences LLC for a future definitive licensing agreement for Northstrive’s licensing of certain intellectual property rights related to EL-22 in the field of animal health. This license would allow Modulant to use the relevant intellectual property for uses in animal health, including use as a feed additive. Excluding the Republic of Korea, the license would be worldwide and exclusive, and give Modulant the exclusive right to sub-license the relevant intellectual property globally. (globenewswire)

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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER

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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – SCREWWORM On May 11, the US Agriculture Secretary announced the suspension of live cattle, horse and bison imports through U.S. ports of entry along the southern border due to the continued and rapid northward spread of New World screwworm (NWS) in Mexico, effective immediately. NWS has been recently detected in remote farms with minimal cattle movement as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles away from the U.S. border. The U.S. and Mexico continue efforts to interdict and eradicate NWS in Mexico and work in good faith. (Feedstuffs)
• US – VETERINARY EDUCATION A proposed class action lawsuit was filed in April by veterinary interns against veterinary schools and hospitals, alleging and antitrust conspiracy scheme that intentionally suppresses wages and competition by forcing all such individuals to apply for employment through a system called the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program (VIRMP). The complaint is being brought on behalf of all U.S. citizens who were veterinary interns or residents any time between April 2, 2021, and the date of class certification who obtained their position through the VIRMP; with an estimated number of eligible plaintiffs of 5,000. (association press release)
• US – VETERINARY COSTS A recent survey from PetSmart Charities found 52% of pet owners in the U.S. report having skipped needed veterinary care in the past year, including 37% who say they have visited the veterinarian but declined one or more care recommendations and 15% who say they have not brought their pet to the veterinarian because of barriers such as financial considerations. Among pet owners who declined recommended care or forwent annual visits, 71% attributed their decision to finances. (AVMA)
• US – CULTIVATED MEAT Montana and Indiana have joined Mississippi, Alabama and Florida in taking legislative action against lab-grown meat.  Montana enacted a law prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of cultivated meat. Indiana issued a two-year moratorium on the products from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027, following which cultivated meat products will then be required to display the phrase: “This is an imitation meat product.” A similar bill in Nebraska has advanced in the legislature. However, Florida is now facing a legal challenge to the 2024 state law from UPSIDE Foods Inc, claiming the ban violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. (Feedstuffs)
• US – PET CARE GUIDELINES The RECOVER Initiative released the 2024 RECOVER CPR Guidelines for dogs and cats in 15 languages. (Vet Advantage)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
This week I attended the Animal Health and Nutrition Innovation conference in Boston.  This was my second trip to Kisaco’s animal health event here in the US and I thought I would highlight one of the panel discussions that I felt most of us haven’t thought through the consequences of its adoption.

The title of the panel discussion was “AI in Veterinary Practices – Impact on Productivity, Client Engagement, Quality of Care (Clinical Decision Making) and Revenue.  That’s a lot to cover in 30 minutes. One of the panelists, Adam Little, President, Exponential Animal Health, Inc., said something that really caught my attention, “…soon, the veterinary clinic that doesn’t use AI will provide substandard care.”  He went on to say that AI will allow veterinarians to do things they would rather do and reiterated how fast AI will change the quality of care.

What’s happening in human medicine is coming over to veterinary medicine.  AI will improve medical diagnoses by enhancing imaging, predicting risks, analyzing pathology and processing clinical data.  It will be integrated into how veterinarians provide care to pets and more likely will be a “second opinion” for veterinarians. The large language models used, like those from Open ai and Xai, will continue to improve performance and accuracy as they are better and better trained.  We might be experiencing AI fatigue about now, but we need to keep thinking about how our industry is about to change.

Bob Jones

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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked about expected Fed interest rate cuts this year. 45% believe there will be just one cut, while 31.2% expect two. Meanwhile, 22% think there will be no cuts at all, and only 1.8% foresee three cuts. The majority are betting on a cautious approach from the Fed—just one trim to interest rates.

This week
Other than interacting with chatbots, how often do you use AI tools?