Animal Health News and Notes · June 26, 2026
Elanco: Supporting Early-Stage Animal Health Innovation
Editor: Christine Merle DVM, MBA, CVPM
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Brakke Consulting News
Brakke Consulting is pleased to announce that Dr. Cristiano von Simson, DVM, MBA, has joined the firm as a Senior Consultant. Cristiano brings more than 30 years of global animal health leadership experience, having held executive roles with Virbac, Bayer Animal Health, and Merial. Throughout his career, he has led marketing, commercial strategy, portfolio management, and business development initiatives that have helped organizations successfully launch innovative products, strengthen established brands, and identify new growth opportunities.
A veterinarian by training with an MBA, Cristiano combines deep scientific expertise with proven executive leadership. His extensive experience at the intersection of clinical medicine and commercial strategy strengthens Brakke Consulting’s ability to help clients navigate product development, commercialization, portfolio strategy, and business growth. His collaborative leadership style and global perspective make him a valuable addition to the firm’s consulting team.
Contact Cristiano at cvonsimson@brakkeconsulting.com.
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US Company News
- Merck Animal Health announced the availability of EXZOLT (fluralaner oral solution) for the treatment and control of northern fowl mites in backyard chickens. (company press release)
- Cevaannounced a strategic focus on the United States with the appointments of Laura Correro as Senior Vice President for Companion Animals franchise and the relocation of Executive Vice President Jen-Marcel Ciet to the U.S. (company press release)
- Virbacannounced that their Every Pet Project donation program has reached $500,000 in cumulative donations. (company press release)
- Mars Petcare UShas recalled two lots of Pedigree canned dog food for not meeting its safety and quality standards. (com)
- The merger of Bond Vetand Small Door Veterinary was announced, resulting in 55 practices across major Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest markets. (companies press release)
- New research from Freshpetfurther supports the deep connections between pets and people. (company press release)
- A summary judgement has cleared turkey companies Perdue andFoster Farms in a price-fixing conspiracy brought by three groups representing grocery retailers, restaurants and foodservice companies. (com)
- Optiscan Imaging, an Australian based company,will launch its first commercial clinical device in the US, InSpecta microscopic imaging device at the AVMA convention in Anaheim, CA this week. (com.au)
- Purgo Scientificand its veterinary subsidiary, Vetlen, announced Dr. Cherice Roth, DVM, MS, MBA as CEO. (company press release)
- Ollie, a pet food company, and Zola, a wedding planning platform, are partnering to provide complimentary wedding-day meals for dogs included in wedding celebrations. (com)
- Provetunveiled the first all-in- one Veterinary Practice Management System (PIMS) that was built for AI Agents. (company press release)
- OpenVet announced free access to any licensed veterinarian to its’ public beta app or by emailing clinical question to ask@openvet.ai.(com)
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International Company News
- AU – In the latest Brand Affinity Tracker from independent research firm Kynetec, Hill’s Pet Nutritionwas noted as the #1 pet food brand recommended by Australian veterinarians surveyed. (company press release)
- AU – CoverMy Petentered the Australian pet insurance market with a low-cost policy option. (com.au)
- CA –Vetster and PetSmart announced the expansion of its virtual veterinary support program to PetSmart stores in Canada. (company press release)
- CA – DNA My Dog, announced the launch of its new Health and Trait Test. (businessinsider.com)
- EU – Zoetisreceived European Commission Marketing Authorization for Poulvac Procerta HVT-ND, a recombinant vector vaccine for the protection of chickens against Newcastle disease and Marek’s disease viruses in a single dose. (company press release)
- NORDIC – ZymIQ Technology,a Swedish life science company, will distribute its’ Kalzyme brand of enzyme-based animal health products through Imazo, a leading distributor in the Nordic market including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. (com)
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Animal Health Industry News
- AU – A new national campaign to protect veterinarians and their teams from workplace abuse was launched by Sophie’s Legacy, which was established by the family of Dr. Sophie Putland after her death following verbal abuse and threats from an angry pet owner. (com.au)
- UK – A White Paperoutlining the government’s next steps to reform of the veterinary sector through revisions of the Veterinary Surgeons Act was published. (uk)
- US – Research sponsored by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Agragene and North Carolina State University is testing alternative technologies to producing sterile yet reproductively vigorous male flies to support New World Screwworm eradication efforts. (com)
- US – Recently published researchshowed that more than half of free-roaming cats in New York City were infected with zoonotic parasites highlighting public health risks. (org)
- US – The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine has received full accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. (arizona.edu)
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Brakke Consulting Viewpoint
Like a lot of our readers, I consider myself a free-market guy. Let the market decide, keep the government out of markets, and that free and open competition for consumers is good. So, when I read recent articles written about the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reforms or rules for the veterinary sector, my free-market radar went off.
The CMA’s investigation started almost three years ago and brought 56,000 responses, 45,000 from the public, 11,000 from those working in the veterinary industry. That’s massive. You can find the full report here.
What set the radar off for me was the price cap on prescriptions fees, which drove me to learn about the other ten reforms the CMA has imposed on the veterinary industry. I was sure that these reforms were all going to be bad, but after thinking about the reforms, I am not so sure. It seemed to me that most of the reforms were focused almost entirely on disclosure: price lists, written estimates, ownership transparency, comparison tools. A hardline free marketeer would tend to support most of those.
The report looked at the differences in pricing, satisfaction, and other things between large veterinary groups (LVGs, or corporate groups) and independent veterinarians, some of the differences are eye-opening. One of my observations here was about trust and how this has been impacted by the formation of LVGs, which I will address in the Viewpoint next week.
Bob Jones
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Your View
Last week, we asked you about how you plan to spend Independence Day, July 4th,- most respondents stayed close to home almost equally divided between hosting a celebration at their house (23%), comforting their dogs spooked by fireworks (21%) or attending local 4th of
July celebrations (18%). A small number traveled out of state to celebrate (5%) while the “Other” responses (33%) are worth noting: yard work, family BBQs, a parade, remote camping in Idaho, an out-of-state wedding, and one household that took the chickens for a pool dip (hope they didn’t misspell “children”). However, they marked it, readers found their own way to celebrate 250 years of independence.
This week let’s see what you think about one of the CMA’s new rules for veterinary practices that directly focuses on disclosure. Tell us what you think about this rule:
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