***********************************
Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for October 9, 2020
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
************************************
IN THE NEWS:
Earnings News
Animalcare
Other News
Alivira Animal Health
Be Seen Be Safe
Boehringer Ingelheim
Centaur Biopharmaceutical Services
Ceva
Compassion-First Pet Hospitals
Fendigo BV
Kindred Biosciences
Knoell group
Nestle Purina PetCare
Petco
PetVivo
Royal Canin
Vaxart
Zomedica
************************************
COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES
- Animalcare reported results for the first six months of its fiscal 2020. The company recorded revenues of GBP 34.5 million ($44.4 million), a 4.4% year-on-year decline in sales. Underlying profit was GBP 3.5 million in the first half, which was slightly down on the GBP 3.9 million posted in H1 2019. (IHS Markit Connect)
************************************
AVMA Economic Summit
October 26-28, 2020
Location: Online
Early-bird pricing ends October 12
AVMA Economic Summit: Transformation through collaboration
Register today – and be a part of the only event focused solely on the economic impact of veterinary medicine. Gain insight from veterinary and economic leaders on current trends and innovations – including a presentation from John Volk, Brakke Consulting, on how COVID-19 has impacted pet care.
Special thanks to: Presenting Partner – Merck Animal Health; Premier Partner – CareCredit; Community Partners – Royal Canin, IDEXX. Learn more.
************************************
COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Boehringer Ingelheim announced the launch of Vaxxitek HVT+IBD+ILT. According to the company, it is the first vaccine for poultry to offer protection in one shot from Infectious Laryngotracheitis, Marek’s Disease and Infectious Bursal Disease. (PRnewswire)
- Ceva Animal Health announced the launch of DOUXO Care Auricular Lotion, a gentle, non-oily ear cleaner for dogs and cats. (Zenopa.com)
- Nestle Purina PetCare announced an estimated $450 million investment to open a manufacturing facility in Eden, North Carolina. This expansion is part of a broader growth plan the company says began last year with the opening of a new wet pet food factory and distribution center in Georgia. (Veterinary Practice News)
- Kindred Biosciences announced it has expanded its manufacturing agreement with Vaxart, covering an oral vaccine for COVID-19 and other vaccine candidates. The manufacturing services will be performed via KindredBio’s service contract development and manufacturing services subsidiary Centaur Biopharmaceutical Services. (IHS Markit Connect)
- Zomedica Pharmaceuticals is reportedly facing potential delisting from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) following the failure of the firm to receive the required two-thirds majority vote from shareholders for a reverse split of common shares to continue trading on the NYSE. If the company is unable to maintain its listing, its common shares would cease to trade on NYSE and would instead trade in the over-the-counter market on either the OTC Bulletin Board or the Pink Sheets. The firm will also change its name to solely ‘Zomedica’ to reflect its focus on veterinary diagnostics instead of pharmaceuticals. (IHS Markit Connect)
- Petco announced the launch of Vital Care, a paid yearly Wellness Plan that includes routine services. The plan includes unlimited veterinary exams at 22 locations (additional locations to come); unlimited nail trims and teeth brushing for dogs at Petco grooming salons; and more. (drewnewsreports.com)
- Germany’s knoell group announced the launch of a new US division. The new Kansas-based subsidiary will provide regulatory and clinical trial expertise to companies in the US. (IHS Markit Connect)
- Be Seen Be Safe, announced the launch of Farm Health Guardian, a new real-time disease mitigation technology platform for pork and poultry producers and integrators throughout North America, Europe and the UK. The system accurately and quickly tracks and shuts down disease spread within minutes of the first report of disease symptoms by recording all movement in and out of production facilities in real time. (Feedstuffs)
- Compassion-First Pet Hospitals announced the addition of Advanced Veterinary Internal Medicine (AVIM) in Orange County, CA to its growing family of specialty and emergency hospitals. Financial terms were not disclosed. (company press release)
- PetVivo Holdings announced the certification and opening of its new medical device manufacturing facility and Center of Excellence in Edina, Minnesota. The new facility is primarily dedicated to the manufacture of its veterinary medical device for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA), KUSH, and the development of its proprietary mucoadhesive active agent delivery products. (cleanroomtechnology.com)
- EU Sequent Scientific announced a definitive agreement for the acquisition of S. Van Der Heijden’s 15% stake in Fendigo BV through Alivira Animal Health, Ireland, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. On completion of the proposed acquisition, Fendigo BV will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The cost of acquisition will be EUR 191,947.50 ($225,000). (Expresspharma.in)
- CANADA Royal Canin announced a collaboration with the Université de Montréal’s veterinary school. A new Centre of Excellence for Minimally Invasive Procedures (CEMIP) will be established at the veterinary school, and Royal Canin Canada has agreed on $1 million funding and a multi-year partnership. (company press release)
***********************************
ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
***********************************
ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US – CATTLE RESEARCH Kansas State University researchers are developing facial recognition technology for the cattle industry. The technology builds on concepts used for human facial recognition; using unique facial features of individual cows that can be scanned and used to track the animal throughout its life. A recent test of the network’s reliability, resulted in 94% accuracy. (Vet Advantage)
- US – VETERINARY BUSINESS The American Veterinary Medical Association announced the launch of the Trust Retirement Plan, a retirement program for veterinary practices to offer a 401(k) plan for themselves and their employees. The AVMA Trust Retirement Plan is offered by way of financial services giant Transamerica. (Today’s Veterinary Business)
************************************
BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
On September 28 I attended the Kansas City Ag Council Outlook forum. Main speakers included leaders in Ag Trade, Ag Economics, and the head of the KC Federal Reserve Bank. It was very informative about the overall picture of US agriculture’s current financial health. It is certainly not a pretty picture, as without federal aid to the tune of $33B since 2018, farmers would have lost $291/acre on corn and $69/acre on beans. There were multiple presentations around trade policy and impacts and one could determine quickly which side of the political fence the speaker sat.
There was much discussion on the state of play with Ag’s four main export markets (47%): China, Japan, Mexico, and Canada. Growth from China exports was expected to be around 67% this year.
Interestingly there were also discussions on Europe and its Farm-to-Fork policy on food and the potential for increased trade in the future. The frustrations by the trade negotiators were palpable.
My view is that though the trade rebalancing is in the short term painful, hopefully in longer term farmers will benefit from more positive trade activities. And as for Europe, with some credible insight having lived there for over 7 years and working for European companies for over 20 years, my view is to really focus on other markets. The additional 2-3 billion people in the next 20-30 years will come in other parts of the world and with that comes the opportunity for real growth for agriculture exports. Let’s go get that business.
Paul Casady
***********************************
YOUR VIEW
Last week we mentioned that the AVMA’s Economic Summit is a chance to “sharpen the saw”, a habit described in Steven Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” We asked for you personally, if you had to pick which habit is the most important to you today, which one would it be? My favorite habit turns out to be the most selected one – here are all the results.
- Be proactive 16%
- Begin with the end in mind 20%
- Put first things first 15%
- Think win/win 11%
- Seek to understand first, before making yourself understood 25%
- Learn to synergize 5%
- Sharpen the saw. 7%
Well, we still need to sharpen the saw and we hope you take a look at the AVMAs AVMA’s Economic Summit lineup as we mention above.
This week
For this week, let’s get back to this week’s Viewpoint.
English (United States) 
Portuguese