Animal Health News & Notes for October 4, 2024

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for October 4, 2024
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:

Brakke Consulting News
Animal Health Jobs

Other News
Anpario
Bio-Vet
Cronus Pharma
Felix Pharmaceuticals
Grovet
IMV Technologies
Inspire Veterinary Partners
Instinct Science
Lone Wolf Ranch
Merck
Parasight System
Pharmgate
SeQuent Scientific
UD-Vet
Viyash Lifesciences
VMD Sciences
Wedgewood
Zomedica

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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• Merck Animal Health announced the introduction of SENSEHUB Cow Calf, remote monitoring technology designed to help optimize breeding results with less labor for cow/calf producers, including seedstock and club calf producers, who use artificial insemination (AI) or embryo transfer (ET). (company press release)
• Anpario, announced it has acquired Bio-Vet Inc. for an initial payment of $6.3 million, funded through cash. The deal could rise to $7.2 million based on future performance targets. Bio-Vet – which focuses on nutrition products for the dairy industry – generated $8.2 million in sales in 2023. (feednavigator.com)
• The FDA announced it has approved Cronus Pharma Specialities India Private‘s Tulaject 25 and Tulaject 100 (generic tulathromycin) for swine and calves. (FDA)
• The FDA announced it has approved Felix Pharmaceuticals Ltd’s generic Carprofen Soft Chewable Tablets. (FDA)
• The FDA announced it has approved Pharmgate Inc’s MGA and Bovatec and Deracin (melengestrol acetate Type A medicated article) and (lasalocid Type A medicated article) and (chlortetracycline Type A medicated article) generic feed additive combination for cattle. (FDA)
• Wedgewood announced the addition of molnupiravir to its formulary. Originally developed for human viral infections, molnupiravir has emerged as a promising option for both first- and second-line therapy of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). (company press release)
• Parasight System, a leading innovator in veterinary diagnostic solutions, is excited to announce the successful integration of its advanced diagnostic platform with three of the most widely used veterinary practice management systems: Cornerstone, Avimark, and Impromed Infinity. (company press release)
• VMD Sciences, LLC, announced the launch of its Expanded Access Programs (EAPs) for pets and livestock. the EAPs offer veterinarians and their patients access to cutting-edge treatment options that are often unavailable through standard channels. (businesswire)
• Inspire Veterinary Partners, Inc. has been notified by the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff of non-compliance with shareholder approval requirements, putting its listing at risk. The notice indicates that the company’s recent “best efforts” public offering, which closed on July 15, 2024, did not meet the criteria for a public offering under Nasdaq’s rules. Inspire Veterinary Partners plans to submit a written appeal to the Nasdaq Hearings Panel by October 1, 2024. (com)
• Instinct Science announced its second annual State of Emergency and Specialty Veterinary Care Reportbased on a survey of 545 emergency and specialty veterinary professionals. (company press release)
• Lone Wolf Ranch pet food, founded by Chuck Norris, has launched as a new premium dog nutrition brand, offering air-dried, nutrient-rich foods for canines. (Pet Business)
• EU IMV Technologies announced it has acquired Dutch-Belgian imaging business UD-Vet. Financial terms were not disclosed. (co.uk)
• INDIA SeQuent Scientific and Viyash Lifesciences announced a merger. Upon the scheme becoming effective, all shareholders of Viyash will be issued shares of SeQuent at the ratio of 56 shares of SeQuent for every 100 shares of Viyash. (rediff.com)
• EU Zomedica announced the expansion of its distribution partnership in Europe with Grovet, an equine-focused veterinary distributor. The updated agreement offers Grovet exclusive equine distribution rights for Zomedica’s equine PulseVet and TRUFORMA product platforms in 27 EU countries, and on a non-exclusive basis in Italy and the UK. (biospace.com)

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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER

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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – FDA-CVM EDUCATION The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is hosting “Paws, Claws, Hooves, Fins, and Feet—Advancements through a One Health Approach,” a virtual One Health symposium on November 19, 2024, from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The event is open to all members of the veterinary community and offers 4 hours of RACE continuing education credit. For detailed information and to register for the event, please visit the CVM One Health symposium webpage. (FDA)
• US – DRUG APPROVAL The FDA announced that it is reorganizing the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation (ONADE) within the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) into two separate offices – the Office of New Animal Product Evaluation (ONAPE) and the Office of Generic Animal Drugs (OGAD) – that will handle pre-market evaluation of originator animal products and generic drugs. The reorganization implementation will take place October 20, 2024. (FDA)
• US – FEED OVERSIGHT The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) announced that it is considering a proposal from Kansas State University’s K-State Olathe Innovation Campus (K-State Olathe) to provide the scientific review for its new animal food ingredient submission pathway. This proposed pathway would replace AAFCO’s former Ingredient Definition Request process that sunsetted on October 1, 2024, following the expiration of AAFCO’s Memorandum of Understanding with the FDA. AAFCO is seeking comments and feedback from feed regulators and industry experts on K-State Olathe’s proposal. All comments should be submitted in writing to aafco@aafco.org with the subject line “K-State Olathe Proposal Comment” by October 31, 2024. (Feedstuffs)
• North Carolina State University researchers announced the development of a tool to assist veterinarians and clients in evaluating elderly dogs’ frailty. When coupled with simple assessments of body and muscle condition, the tool can predict the probability of short term mortality (within 6 months) as well as provide owners important data to make decisions on treatment and quality-of-life choices for their elderly dogs. The work appears in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. (university press release)
• US – VETERINARY ASSOCIATIONS The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) announced that it is now the Feline Veterinary Medical Association (FelineVMA). The catvets.com website name is not changing. (association press release)
• US – AVIAN INFLUENZA A Kansas State University researcher has published research indicating that the milk and milking procedures, rather than respiratory spread, are the likely primary routes of H5N1 transmission between cattle. The research was published in the journal (Feedstuffs)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
October has always been one of my favorite months of the year.  Great weather, great sports, great activities for sportsmen – I could go on.  But business-wise, I always felt that October was like the start of the last lap around the track in a mile-long race.  I had three quarters (or laps) behind me, and I had to finish the year strong…and had to finish the budget for the next year.

This connection between budgeting and innovation came to mind after reviewing this week’s developments in the newsletter. Several companies announced the approval of important and popular generic products for companion animals and livestock.  And the FDA’s CVM announced they are restructuring their ONADE organization into two groups, one focused on generic drugs and the other on new, original drugs.  I have not yet been able to find out what drove this change, but it would not be a surprise that a big driver was the high volume of generic drugs going through the approval process.  Maybe it was a low volume of new drug applications.

I know that innovations in our industry are coming to market – Elanco’s dermatology product Zenrelia was just approved, and they expect approval of their parasiticide Credelio Quattro still this year.  But I often feel, especially on the livestock side, there should be more investment – budgets – for true innovation.  And launching new products always helps everyone run that four quarter-long race.

Bob Jones

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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked you about outside investment in pet health startups – it was reported by Crunchbase that investment was down in 2024.  We asked if you thought this was the start of a new trend of lower investment or if it was an anomaly and it would be on the upswing again.  The results from our survey were exactly equally divided – so, I guess we will call it a tie.

This week
This week, let’s see again how good you are at guessing numbers.  There is still a lot of talk about inflation today and an article from the USDA on food inflation caught my attention. I think we all believe we are paying more for what goes in the middle of our dinner plate.

What is the 20-year historical average inflation for all meats, poultry and fish?