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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for January 16, 2026
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Christine Merle DVM, MBA, CVPM
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting News
Brakke Consulting Industry Overview – Limited Spots at VMX
Tails of Talent: Branding Lessons to Win the Talent Game
Company News
Aboitiz Foods (PH)
Bimeda
Bioguard
Chemlock Nutrition
DIasham Resources (SG)
Electome
EQUUSIR
HT Vet
Idexx ( Leadership)
Idexx ( Cancer Diagnosis)
Idexx ( Imaging)
IndeVets
Inventory Ally
KVP SafePath
Mars Veterinary Health
Mixlab
OpenVet
Otto
PetSmart
VetNova
Vetology AI
Vets Choice Radiology
Vetsource
Vetster
YuYu Pharma
ZyVet
Animal Health News
Mexico
United States
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Brakke Consulting
2026 Industry Overview
Presented at VMX:
Monday, January 19th, 2-4 pm
Florida Ballroom B-C
Presented at WVC:
Monday, February 16th , 2-4 pm
Four Seasons Ballroom 4
How did the top animal health companies perform in 2025? Did growth slow? What innovation in animal health can we expect and how will the animal health industry bring innovation to market? Answers to these questions and more will be covered at Brakke Consulting’s annual Industry Overview at the VMX and WVC conferences next year.
Key topics and presenters include:
- Industry and Top Global Company 2025 Performance, presented by Bob Jones
- Pet Care: Head Winds or Market Correction?, presented by John Volk
- Innovation in Animal Health: What in the world is it, presented by Chuck Johnson
- Where Innovation Meets Investment: What’s wrong and how to fix it, presented by Alexis Nahama
Also, again at both events, you’ll also hear directly from a panel of executive leaders in the animal health industry. Moderated by Paul Casady, this year’s VMX leadership panel features Jamie Brannan, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Zoetis. In his role, he is responsible for all Zoetis commercial operations across the globe. The discussion will be around Challenges and Opportunities in 2026 in animal health.
This information-packed 2-hour session will be especially valuable for executive leadership, sales and marketing, strategy, and finance managers and decision makers in the animal health industry.
Registration cost is $399 per person. Special group pricing for teams of five or more—pay for four participants, and the fifth is complimentary. To register a group of five or more, please email Amanda McDavid or call 336-396-3916 for assistance with registering.
Click here to register for VMX
Click here to register for WVC
We look forward to seeing you there!
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
- Idexx announced the promotion of Michael Erickson PhD to CEO and President effective May 12,2026 succeeding Jay Mazelsky who will become executive chairman of the board. (company press release)
- Idexxannounced expansion of the cancer diagnostic capabilities with the rollout of Fine Needle Aspirate review on their InVue DX and expansion of their Cancer Dx Panel to include mast cell tumor detection. (company press release)
- Idexxlaunched ImageVue DR50 Plus Imaging Solution. ( company press release)
- The FDA approvedZyVet’s generic robenacoxib tablets for the control of postoperative pain and inflammation in cats. (gov)
- Inventory Allyannounced a partnership with ZyVet allowing for direct product purchasing and inventory management. (company press release)
- BimedaUS expanded its SecureCattle Product Line with a new 50- Dose (250ml) size. (company press release)
- VetNova announced US distribution partnerships with Amatheon and Midwest Veterinary Supply. (company press release)
- Mars Veterinary Health released its 2025 Science Impact Report. (com)
- Vetsourcereleased a white paper on 2025 veterinary visit trends. (company press release)
- Chemlock Nutritionintroduced Nutrivit Puri-D, a vitamin D supplement for animal feed. (com)
- KVP SafePathannounced a strategic partnership with Bioguard to develop and seek approval for veterinary diagnostic assays for North America. (eqs-news.com)
- HT Vetlaunched VISTAiQ, an AI-powered cancer screening technology for dogs. (company press release)
- Vets Choice Radiologyannounced Georgia Wraight as new CEO. (company press release)
- Equusir, has launched their Body Energy Solution Technology-BOX (BEST-BOX) in the US offering a combination of photobiomodulation, infrared B light, and electromagnetic field therapy to detect and treat dogs. (com)
- Electomehas launched LymeCure Research Study in a collaborative research effort with Tulane University to explore novel non-pharmacologic approach to Lyme Disease. (com)
- YuYu Pharmahas established a US office at UCLA’s incubator space Magnify. (com)
- Mixlabhas launched Maisy, an AI health partner. (com)
- IndeVets announced that all its veterinarians will be required to be Fear Free Certified. (company press release)
- Otto has launched Agentic Confirmations-an AI automated appointment followup. (com)
- Vetster is providing a virtual veterinary support program to PetSmart (sg.finance.yahoo.com)
- OpenVet, an AI-powered clinical intelligence platform, published the First Veterinary AI Safety Charter. (com)
- Vetology AIpublically released complete perforance metrics for all classifiers across its diagnostic platform- providing transparency to the sensitivity, specificity and sample size. (company press release)
- PH/SG- Philippine food unit, Aboitiz Foodshas acquired Singapore- based animal nutrition firm, Diasham Resources. (com.ph)
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Tails of Talent: Branding Lessons to Win the Talent Game
Why brand reputation, not just recruiting tactics — determines who you can hire
Join us Live at VMX or WVC!
Presented at:
VMX – Monday, January 19 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Florida Ballroom B-C
WVC – Monday, February 16 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Four Seasons Ballroom 4
In animal health, the war for talent isn’t won with job postings; it’s won with perception. It starts with how the market sees you. Join us for an insight-rich session that shows why companies with strong, trusted brands consistently attract better candidates, shorten time-to-hire, and boost long-term retention. Using fresh data and real examples from across the industry, our seasoned experts will walk you through how to evaluate your organization’s brand reputation and elevate it to the level top talent seeks out. Instead of chasing candidates, learn how to position your company as the place they want to be.
Presented by:
Jeff Santosuosso – Executive Recruiter – Brakke Consulting
Jake Yarbrough – Group Director – Schaefer Advertising
Click here to register. At only $49, this session is a high-value investment in the future of your recruitment strategy.
Please email Amanda McDavid or call 336-396-3916 for assistance with registering.
We look forward to helping you win the talent game.
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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
- US- CATALYST COUNCIL- Gina Fortunato was announced as the new Executive Director of the CATalyst Council, succeeding Dr. Jane Brunt who will continue on as a Senior Advisor. (co) The council also released a report, Key Feline Market Insights from 2025. (catalystcouncil.org)
- US- HARRISON AVIAN RESEARCH & CONVERSATION COLLABORATIVE- Dr. Todd Drigger has been elected President. (organization press release)
- US- USDA LEADERSHIP- Effective February 1, Kelly Moore will be acting APHIS Administrator and Dr. Alan Huddleston will serve as acting US Chief Veterinary Officer. (com)
- US- RABIES- Chicago reported its first- rabies positive dog in over 60 years. (com)
- US- NEW FOOD PYRAMID- The US Health and Human Services released a new inverted food pyramid placing meat, along with vegetables at the top of the pyramid. (com)
- MX- NEW WORLD SCREWWORM- Mexico confirmed a case of New World Screwworm in a third pig in the last three months. (com)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
As Bob Seger said, “There I go, turn the page”, 2025 is behind us and hope springs eternal for 2026.
But let’s not completely turn our backs on 2025. The annual reporting cycle will begin in late January or early February. Our analysis of company performance shows that the industry will post mid-single digit revenue growth along the lines of historical rates. Despite the solid revenue growth, the investment returns for the publicly traded companies largely lagged benchmark indices. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials posted growth of 16% and 13%, respectively, whereas the Petcare ETF showed growth of only 1%.
Now, it should not be lost that the returns for the S&P 500 are dominated by the “Magnificent 7” stocks. While in total the S&P 500 posted growth of 15%, estimates indicate that the growth would be about half of that if you excluded the MAG 7, which is fueled by the investment in AI. Toward the end of 2025, the markets saw a rotation out of the MAG 7 into smaller stocks, especially as the interest rate environment continues to be more favorable.
Animal health company stocks should have a better year in 2026, especially those companies who are in the early stages of an innovation cycle. In fact, we will talk about company performance and innovation at our Industry Overview presentations at VMX and WVC. See you there.
Randy Freides
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YOUR VIEW
Last week we asked whether cats should be treated by the IRS like dogs. The results showed a perfectly divided household: 50% believe cats are just as dependent as dogs, while 23% insist cats are proudly independent. Meanwhile, a brave 27% refused to answer altogether, fearing retaliation from their pets. Conclusion: cats may not qualify as dependents—but they clearly qualify as intimidating household authorities.
This week:
This week, we’re switching gears to football. Now that we’re in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, we want to know:
Who do you think will represent the NFC and AFC in the Super Bowl?
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