Animal Health News & Notes for May 24, 2024

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for May 24, 2024
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:

Brakke Consulting News
Pain Management Products report – now available
Brakke Search – industry veterinarian

Earnings News
Inspire Veterinary Partners
Petco

Other News
Animal Health Express
Antelligence
Cactus Family Farms
Center Point Bio-Tech
Ceres Tag
Covetrus
Cresilon
CVS Group
Dechra
Ethos Veterinary Health
Global Veterinary Excellence
Hallmarq
Merck
Mixlab
Modern Animal
Nestlé Purina PetCare
NexGen Animal Health
Passel Farms
Patterson
Pawp
PetPace
Standard Nutrition Company
Veterinary Instrumentation
Vet Receptionists
Walmart
Weave
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Brakke Consulting
2024 PAIN MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS FOR DOGS AND CATS
NOW AVAILABLE

Is your company up-to-date on the latest trends in this important category? New, innovative products like LIBRELA and SOLENSIA are changing the pain management paradigm.

Brakke Consulting’s annual report on Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats includes such valuable information as:

• estimates of US sales and prices of leading products
• review of new and upcoming pain management products, including monoclonal antibody products SOLENSIA and LIBRELA
• discussion of the use of cannabinoids in veterinary pain management
• 2024 survey of 350 small animal veterinarians regarding use of pain management products

Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats 2024 can be purchased for $8,995. Questions about the study can be answered by project manager Lynn Fondon, DVM, MBA at info@brakkeconsulting.com. 

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EARNINGS NEWS RELEASES

• Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. announced its first quarter 2024 financial results. Net revenue was $1.5 billion, down 1.7% versus prior year. GAAP net loss in the first quarter of 2024 was $(46.5) million, compared to GAAP net loss of $(1.9) million in the prior year. (company press release)
• Inspire Veterinary Partners, Inc. reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. Total revenue was $4.8 million, an increase of 13%. Net loss was $(3.4) million compared to a net loss of $(1.5) million for the prior year period. (streetinsider)

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Brakke Consulting
Industry veterinarian position

Are you an equine veterinarian looking to enter industry? Would a role in professional services with important work conducting formal efficacy studies interest you? Want to join a small but well-established company that places all things equine at the top of their priorities? Does a remote/hybrid role with wide autonomy and top-notch benefits appeal to you?

If so, we have just the opportunity! Please click here to learn more about this opportunity or contact Jeff Santosuosso at jeff@brakkeconsulting.com.

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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• Dechra Pharmaceuticals Limited announced the appointment of Jesper Nordengaard as its CEO and retirement of Ian Page effective June 10, 2024. Jesper Nordengaard will join Dechra from Colgate-Palmolive where he is currently President, North America; Jesper previously was President and CEO of Hill’s Pet Nutrition. (company press release)
• Hallmarq announced the installation of its first zero-helium small animal 1.5T MRI machine in the US at the Wisconsin Neurology and Surgical Center. (company press release)
• Center Point Bio-Tech announced a non-exclusive distribution agreement with a leading veterinary distributor in advance of the commercial launch of its AlphaION point-of-care diagnostic platform for veterinary practices. (company press release)
• Ceres Tag announced that Animal Health Express has been designated as the exclusive supplier of Ceres tags in the US and Mexico. The Ceres Ranch tag offers cattle monitoring through direct-to-satellite capability without the need for network setup or infrastructure. (com)
• Mixlab announced it has acquired NexGen Animal Health with continued financial backing from Vanterra Ventures. NexGen specializes in the formulation of innovative products and unique compounds for the care of equine, exotic, wildlife and zoo animals. Financial terms were not disclosed. (com)
• Walmart announced it is teaming up with Pawp to introduce a new telehealth benefit to its Walmart+ members. Starting later this year, Walmart+ members will have free 24/7 virtual access to Pawp’s team of veterinary professionals. Walmart+ initially piloted Pawp as a limited-time offer last year. (Pet Business)
• Standard Nutrition Company announced the newly-formed Passel Farms, a reorganization of SNC’s interests dedicated to pork production. This evolution also includes collaborating with new investment partners to support the acquisition of Cactus Family Farms. Passel Farms will be a multi-state farrow-to-finish production system. (Feedstuffs)
• Ethos Veterinary Health announced the grand opening of the new Red Bank Veterinary Hospital. The new 100k+ square-foot facility houses 400+ professionals and offers 16+ specialties and advanced capabilities. (company press release)
• Modern Animal announced the launch of an introductory suite of AI-assisted enhancements to its proprietary medical software, Claude. The three specific functions enhanced by AI in this first feature release are Patient Overview; Visit Summarization; and Interpretation and Summarization of Lab Work. (prnewswire)
• Patterson Veterinary Supply announced the addition of Weave, an all-in-one software platform, to its product offering portfolio. (com)
• Vet Receptionists announced the launch of its full-service call answering service designed exclusively for veterinary clinics, with a team of experienced veterinary technicians to function as a stand-alone solution or as a backup for front desk staff. (accesswire)
• Antelligence, LLC announce it has released the second quarter update of the Enterprise Practice Directory, which is now web-based. (company press release)
• UK Merck (MSD) Animal Health UK has launched LeeO, a real-time monitoring system for pigs, in the UK. LeeO allows producers to capture and monitor important events in the lifecycle of individual pigs through electronic identification tags, which easily integrate into existing workflow systems. (pig-world)
• UK/EU CVS Group said that it plans to sell its non-core operations in the Netherlands and Ireland within the next two weeks to Global Veterinary Excellence (GVE) for a nominal value of 2 euros, or $2.17; CVS is also providing GVE a GBP 600,000 unsecured loan. GVE is owned by the former director of the business units. The Dutch and Irish units made combined pre-tax loss of GBP (6.8) million last year and are on track to post another loss of GBP (6) million for 2024. (co.uk)
• EU Cresilon announced it has entered into a distribution agreement for Vetigel to be sold directly to veterinary surgeons in the U.K. and throughout Europe through Veterinary Instrumentation (a part of Covetrus). (morningstar)
• MEXICO Nestlé Purina PetCare announced plans to invest CHF 200 million (roughly $220 million) to facilitate an expansion of its pet food production facility in Silao, Mexico. Purina currently manufactures 125 dry and 45 wet pet food varieties at the Silao plant. According to Nestlé, these additions will make the Silao plant the largest for pet food in Latin America. (Petfood Processing)
• PERU A collaboration of experts in the animal care, technology, science, and media sectors has led a whole new approach to early earthquake warnings and public safety. Animal Alerts, a project to develop the first earthquake warning system powered by PetPace, was launched in Peru.  A dog’s stress level is determined using health data collected from the PetPace smart collar and AI algorithms; when multiple dogs in various locations within Lima show an anomalous increase in stress level at the same time, this could be an indication of an impending earthquake. (Yahoo finance)

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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER

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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – VETERINARY HOME DELIVERY AVMA Axon announced the availability of a new Tech Talk webinar discussing home delivery of veterinary products.  The webinar – available for free to AVMA members and $15.00 for non-members – features a discussion of Brakke Consulting’s 2024 Pet Medications Home Delivery Study. (company announcement)
• US – DRUG REGULATION The FDA announced it is extending the comment period for the proposed rule entitled “Labeling Requirements for Approved or Conditionally Approved New Animal Drugs” by 60 days. Comments must be submitted by August 9, 2024 electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or in writing to Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2023-N-5160 for “Labeling Requirements for Approved or Conditionally Approved New Animal Drugs.” (FDA)
• US – ANIMAL WELFARE The Meat Institute has updated its Animal Handling Guidelines and Animal Welfare Audit to include scores for each criterion allowing members to set goals. The Meat Institute also released a new bison animal welfare audit. The guidelines and audit were authored by the Meat Institute’s Animal Welfare Committee, working with Colorado State University Professor of Animal Behavior Dr. Temple Grandin. (Feedstuffs)
• WORLD – ONE HEALTH The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) released Competencies for One Health Field Epidemiology (COHFE) Framework, the first-ever global guidance to develop One Health field epidemiology competencies to support workforce development for prevention, preparedness, and response to health threats. The COHFE Framework is a comprehensive resource for governments, training institutions, and health agencies that includes guidance on curriculum development, mentorship, learning evaluation and certification, as well as continuing education. (association press release)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
This week we published the latest edition of our annual Pain Management Products report.  It’s a fascinating time in the market segment, thanks to the launch last November of Zoetis’ Librela, a monthly monoclonal antibody injection for treating osteoarthritis; and that of Solensia – the feline equivalent – in late 2022.

This new class of pain management drugs has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of chronic pain.  Most veterinarians are already using monoclonal antibodies in their osteoarthritis patients. But how often are they reaching for them?  Are they stand-alone treatments, or part of a multi-modal protocol? Will Librela completely replace the use of NSAIDs in treating osteoarthritis? Is Solensia creating a new market, much like Rimadyl did so when it was launched in the 1990’s?

Our Pain Management Product report answers these questions and more, with direct feedback from our 350-veterinarian survey as well as PIMS-based dispensing data as of April 2024. If your company is part of the companion animal pain management market, you won’t want to miss out on the valuable insights in this report.

Lynn Fondon

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YOUR VIEW
Last week, we asked if your company offers an online shopping option – 64% of you said yes.  It sounds like our profession is moving in the right direction, but perhaps there’s room for improvement.

This week
This week Walmart announced that they are making veterinary telehealth visits available to their Walmart+ members at no cost, through a partnership with Pawp.  Let’s hear your thoughts on veterinary telehealth.

How likely are you to try a virtual/telehealth visit for your pet?